


Because of You

by kenzierinne



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 05:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9973679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenzierinne/pseuds/kenzierinne
Summary: What happens when a God falls in love with a mortal? According to Chanyeol, a new beginning.





	1. Chapter 1

Title: Because of You

Pairing: Chanyeol/Baekhyun

Rating: PG-13

Summary: What happens when a God falls in love with a human? According to Chanyeol, a new beginning. 

One

서투른 내 모습도 좋아해 준 너여지만, 과분한 그 사랑을 받아도 되는지? 언제나 그 자리에 기다려준 너, 두 팔로 감싸 안아준 고마운 너. 절대로 잊지 않을 거야, 행복하게 만들어줄 거야, 하나란 그 말처럼. 시간이 지나도 말하지 못하고 맘속으로 삼키는 나: 미안하다고 널 사랑한다고. 지금처럼 믿어달라고 널. 안아줄게 두 손 잡아줄게 네 맘이 편해질 수 있다면. **내모든걸 바칠게.**

 

Chanyeol watched as a small fire danced in the palm of his hand, the bright flames licking at his fingers and leaving behind a tingling sensation on his skin without actually burning him. The fire emitted a warm glow, casting the room in a dim light, and in the center of the fire, there was an image. It was of a boy, who appeared to be not much older than Chanyeol, sitting in a kitchen, leaning over a bowl of cereal with his phone in his hand. 

The boy looked absolutely beautiful smiling down at the screen, his dark brown eyes shining with happiness and his thin lips curled up with amusement, and Chanyeol felt himself smile at the sight, his chest tightening with undeniable affection. 

Suddenly, the boy’s amused expression shifted into one of panic and he shot up from his seat. Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he wished not for the first time that he could hear what the boy was saying as he saw his mouth move in an onslaught of words. 

“You know, if you keep watching him like that people are going to think you’re a stalker.” 

Chanyeol whipped around, closing his hand so the fire - and the image - disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and his eyes immediately landed on his friend, Yifan. Yifan stood in the doorway of Chanyeol’s bedroom, leaning against the frame with a smirk on his face. 

“Shut up, it’s not like I’m taking pictures of him while he sleeps,” Chanyeol snapped back, defensively. 

Yifan shrugged and walked into the room, quickly closing the distance and situating himself on the bed. “But you do watch him for hours on end,” said Yifan, “it’s not like that’s creepy or anything,” he continued in a sarcastic tone.

“It doesn’t matter.” Chanyeol said bitterly as he brought his fire back to his hand and stared into the orange flames. “He’s a mortal anyways.” 

“So?” Yifan raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Why does that matter?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that I am _immortal_ so I’m going to live _forever_ ,” Chanyeol pushed his hair back in frustration, fingers easily slipping through the fiery, red strands. The fire in his palm crackled briefly with his emotions, although no embers escaped into the air. 

Yifan let out a soft laugh. “Well, there’s no point in moping over a boy you’ve never met. It’s not like you even know his name.”

Chanyeol hesitated and avoided Yifan's gaze. “His name is Baekhyun,” he informed in a quiet, slightly embarrassed tone. “Byun Baekhyun.”

There was a brief pause before the older male blew out a breath. “You really are a stalker.”

\----

“You’re crazy,” Yifan deadpanned. “Like, insane.”

“I just want to get to know him,” Chanyeol insisted, moving to sit himself down on the floor.

The taller male nudged Chanyeol’s foot with his own. “We’re in the middle of the hallway. You should probably get up.”

“I don’t want to.” The redhead groaned. He quickly changed his mind, however, when he saw the look - glare - that Yifan was throwing him. Chanyeol huffed and pushed himself to his feet, childishly crossing his arms over his chest and pouting for dramatic effect. Yifan momentarily looked pleased with himself before his expression changed into one of concern. 

“You’ve never been outside of Olympus before,” Yifan said seriously. “Do you really think you would survive a minute on Earth alone? You have no idea how mortals or their world work, Chanyeol.” 

“That’s why I want you to help me!” Chanyeol exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. 

The older shook his head. “What makes you think I know anything about mortals?” 

“You’ve been to Earth before,” Chanyeol scoffed. “You even lived there for a century and a half!” 

A few passerbys, other Gods and house workers, glanced at the two boys in the hall. Yifan cheeks turned red from the attention, and he immediately told Chanyeol to lower his voice. 

“I will if you help me,” he smiled mischievously. “If not, I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

Yifan swallowed. He knew that the threat wasn’t nearly as deadly as Chanyeol was trying to make it seem since he wouldn’t go around trying to get him into trouble; although, Chanyeol would probably spend the next millennium annoying Yifan every chance he could.

Yifan nodded in resignation. “Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll help you.”

\----

Apparently, taking the form of a human was a lot harder than Yifan made it look. It only took Yifan a few seconds to assume human form while all of Chanyeol’s attempts remained unsuccessful. Chanyeol groaned in frustration when he looked in the mirror and saw that he still had wings of fire on his back. 

“Seriously?” Yifan asked. “A phoenix?” 

“Shut up!” Chanyeol shot back, “I’m trying.”

The taller shook his head. “Try harder.”

“I’m not a powerful God like you. I can’t get this stuff on the first attempt.” 

Yifan scoffed. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a minor God or not, Chanyeol. It matters how hard you try.”

“I’m not good enough. I’m never good enough.” Chanyeol mumbled. 

Yifan raised an eyebrow and frowned. “Don’t talk like that,” He consoled. “Your status as a God has nothing to do with your ability to transform. Just because you aren’t as powerful as others doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough.”

“That’s not true and you know it.” With a sigh, Chanyeol closed his eyes and tried to focus on humanity. He thought about Baekhyun’s appearance; the gentle slope of his nose, the warm color of his hair, the smooth curve of his eyes, and the defined shape of his lips. He focused on what he knew about humans; their voice, their lack of power, their emotions, their mortality. 

Suddenly, Chanyeol felt something curl in his chest - or, more precisely, something _leave him_. It felt as if all the fire in his body was being sucked out of him, leaving him breathless. Then, for the first time in his life, he didn’t feel the burning sensation of his powers that he’d become accustomed to. 

It was now only a warm tingle in his stomach, flowing through his veins.

He opened his eyes and looked to the mirror across from him. “Holy shit,” Chanyeol gasped. “I’m human.”

He heard Yifan chuckle beside him. “Not quite. You just assumed human form.” At Chanyeol’s confused look, he elaborated. “That means you are still the Fire God, however you can’t access most of your powers and you don’t have many God-like characteristics.”

“What can I still do?”

“It’s different for everyone,” Yifan shrugged. “Usually, you’ll still have minimal use of your powers but after a certain point, using your powers will become too much and leave you feeling exhausted.”

Chanyeol nodded and looked over his human-body. His appearance was mostly the same, the only differences were his fiery red hair had taken a slightly darker-red color and his wings were gone. However, in their place, there was a large tattoo that covered most of the skin on his back. The tattoo took the shape of a phoenix. The wingspan went from shoulder to shoulder and the body of the bird covered Chanyeol’s entire back. It was a strange sight but one he welcomed. Chanyeols smiled at Yifan, positively beaming. “I did it!” 

Yifan nodded. “You did it. Now you need to meet the poor boy you’ve been stalking.” 

Chanyeol met his friend’s gaze in the mirror and glared. “I’m not a stalker.”

\----

“How would I get to Earth from here?” Chanyeol asked Yifan a few days after he mastered transforming into his human form.

“Well,” Yifan paused, taking a minute to think, “I suppose you would do it the same way you assumed human form.”

Chanyeol looked at the older questioningly. “What do you mean? How would I do that?”

The older male plopped himself onto the Fire God’s bed, long limbs spread out and taking over much of the space. “You have to focus on where you want to go, what you want to see, and specific characteristics like buildings, temperature, the works.”

The shorter swatted at Yifan legs, who shifted slightly to accommodate him. “So, like teleportation?” Chanyeol asked.

“Not teleportation, _per say_ , but you could call it that.” Yifan nodded. 

“So,” Chanyeol started hesitantly. He could already feel himself blushing and hoped that Yifan wouldn’t notice. “Could I teleport if I thought of a specific person? I mean, would I end up with them?” 

The taller nodded again and yawned. “Yeah, if you focused hard enough - wait.” He shot up, startling Chanyeol. Yifan cocked an eyebrow and pointed an accusing finger. “You want to find Baekhyun.”

“What? N-no!” If he wasn’t blushing before, he definitely was now. Chanyeol cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Don’t even kid yourself,” Yifan scoffed. “You’re obsessed with the poor boy.” 

“Alright, fine,” Chanyeol relented. “I just want to get to know him. If you never went up to Zitao, you wouldn’t be together now.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Yifan rolled his eyes.

\----

That night, Chanyeol went back to his room and layed down on his bed; he called on his fire and stared at the palm of his hand, watching the image dance in front of his eyes. Baekhyun was still awake, even though it was already three in the morning in Korea. He looked happy talking on the phone to someone Chanyeol didn’t know. Chanyeol fell asleep watching Baekhyun smile.

\----

Yifan looked from Zitao to Chanyeol. “Are you sure you want to go through with this today?” He asked the Fire God, his voice laced with concern. “You still have time to practice if you need it.”

Chanyeol shook his head. “I’m ready for this.”

Yifan gave one last pleading look to his boyfriend, mouthing a silent, “Talk him out of this.” But Zitao only shrugged.

“If he wants to, we can’t talk him out of it.” He whispered back.

The oldest sighed dejectedly. He was feeling more nervous than he cared to admit. “Alright. If you do everything just as I told you, you should be fine. Think of where you want to go, the time you want to go there, characteristics.”

Chanyeol nodded along to show he was listening, filled with excitement. “I got it.” He said confidently, and he truly was. 

Yifan smiled and brought his friend in for a quick hug, feeling emotional all of a sudden. “Be safe. We don’t need you dying on us.”

“I’ll be fine,” Chanyeol hugged his friend back. “I’ll miss you.”

Yifan chuckled, “Me too.”

A few moments of silence passed before Zitao began to clap his hands sarcastically. He had a smug look on his face as he said, “Wow, this was touching. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you two were dating.” 

Chanyeol paled while Yifan spluttered and immediately released his grip on his friend and took a step back. It was awkward as the Gods glared at Zitao, who merely grinned and raised his hands in a placating gesture. 

Finally, Yifan cleared his throat. “Well, off you go.” 

“Off I go.” 

Chanyeol took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let his body relax. The first thing he thought about was Earth, then he thought about humanity. He could feel the fire in his body become weaker, drawing back slowly as he began to assume human form. Before he was completely human, Chanyeol started imagining Seoul, South Korea. He imagined the tall buildings, the bustling streets, Baekhyun. 

_Baekhyun._

\----

Chanyeol could feel the morning sun beat down on his face, warming his skin, before he even opened his eyes. Hesitantly, he peeled his eyes open and looked around. Chanyeol found himself surrounded by large, unfamiliar buildings in every direction and there were people bustling about, pushing and shoving to get where they needed to be. It was the complete opposite of what he was used to in Olympus but he had studied it enough to recognize almost immediately that he had successfully made it to Earth, to Seoul. 

“Yes!” Chanyeol shouted in excitement before covering his mouth when he noticed the odd stares cast by a few of the pedestrians walking past him. A little more quietly, he whispered to himself, “I made it!”

Suddenly, there was a loud, shrill noise that made Chanyeol jump in shock and turn his head towards the sound. He nearly screamed when his eyes landed on a big, grey car driving towards him, and he quickly moved out of the way, thankful that he was able to avoid the car crashing into him. “Oh, my God!” Chanyeol gasped, his chest heaving from shock. 

“Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain,” a passerby mumbled in an annoyed tone causing him to scoff at the irony. 

After Chanyeol had safely moved to the sidewalk - and away from the cars - he thought about what to do next. Luckily, the clothes he was wearing were fairly normal - a pair of blue jeans and a plain black tee shirt - but he didn’t think to bring a spare change of clothes with him. He also didn’t have a place to stay or… well, anything, really. Chanyeol was beginning to regret not listening to Yifan's advice to make a plan before coming to Earth.

Chanyeol groaned and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. There were so many thoughts rushing through his head, cluttering his mind, and Chanyeol realized that there was nothing he could do without money, food, or any means of communication.

“Well, shit.” He muttered to himself. “What do I do now?”

Chanyeol began to walk as he thought, but he was at a loss. Sure, he could go back to Olympus but traveling to Earth had already taken so much energy. Not to mention the fact Yifan would probably make fun of him for not even lasting an hour, but what other options were there? Chanyeol walked until he found an empty alleyway, then he crouched into the small space behind a dumpster and called fire to his hand, willing Yifan's image to appear. It was harder to do in his human form, Chanyeol noted.

“Hey, Yifan!” Chanyeol called out.

The said male flinched and looked around. “Chanyeol?” He asked. “Is that you?” 

“No, it’s Zitao,” he said sarcastically. “Anyways, I have a favor to ask of you. I don’t really have anywhere to go. What am I supposed to do?” Chanyeol scratched his head.

Yifan sighed. “If you were here right now, I’d hit you. This is why you always make a plan.” He chastised.

Chanyeol groaned. “Will you please just answer my question?”

“Alright, fine.” Yifan paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. It took him a while to answer, but just when Chanyeol’s patience was beginning to wear thin, Yifan replied. “Do you know who Lu Han is?”

For some reason, the Fire Lord thought the name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t seem to recall anyone. “No, but I think I may have heard the name before.” Chanyeol answered. “Why? Is he a friend of yours?” 

Yifan smiled. “I guess you could say that. Lu Han’s family has been serving Gods for years. He’s the one who helped me when I was in Seoul a few years ago.”

“Okay, so how do I contact him?” Chanyeol asked. He wanted to believe Yifan, but he’d never heard of any mortal serving Gods before, or, at least, not within the past few centuries. He thought that humans stopped believing in the minor Gods like himself a long time ago.

Yifan shrugged. “You don’t contact Lu Han. Lu Han finds you.”

“Well, that’s not creepy at all.” Chanyeol sighs.

\----

Yifan wasn’t wrong. Less than two hours later, Chanyeol felt a light tap on his shoulder while he was walking down the street. When he turned, he saw a shorter man with soft, almost feminine, features, round eyes, and full cheeks. “Are you Park Chanyeol?” He asked in a voice that didn’t match his delicate appearance.

Chanyeol nodded, hesitantly. “Yeah, I am.”

The other man smiled slightly, the corners of his thin lips barely pulling up. “Great. I’m Lu Han.” He introduced himself. “I don’t know if you know of me already, but I am of the Lu family. We exist for the sole purpose of helping the Gods in any and every way we can. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol gaped. This man was so formal and the way he talked was too polished for his taste. 

“Um, hi?” Chanyeol replied.

Lu Han chuckled. “Hello. This is your first time on Earth, am I correct?” Chanyeol nodded again. “Great. Do you have any arrangements made?”

“Arrangements?” Chanyeol tilted his head.

“Yeah, like where you are going to stay or how you are going to earn money. Basic necessities like that.” Lu Han explained.

Chanyeol felt his cheeks heat up and shook his head. It was embarrassing having to admit how much he messed up. Who goes somewhere without planning anything in advance?

As if reading his mind, Lu Han smiled comfortingly. “It’s fine, you aren’t the only one. I think I have an idea anyways.”

“Really?” Chanyeol stared incredulously. He’d only known this guy for maybe ten minutes and he already had a plan?

Lu Han nodded. “Have you ever heard of Korea University?” When Chanyeol shook his head, the other male elaborated. “It’s a pretty decent school on the northern side of Seoul. It’s known for its law and medical departments. There are dorms for students to stay in residence on the campus and the fee will be taken care of. The only things you would be paying for is food. I have connections there so I think that I could get you registered. Classes will be starting in a week and I might be able to get you into a pretty good Law and Business class.”

Chanyeol stared, eyes wide. “Seriously? How?”

Lu Han smirked. “I have my ways. I will be contacting you with more information within the next twelve hours.” He said in a clipped voice before he turned and started walking away.

“Wait,” Chanyeol called out. The other man stopped walking then. “How did you find me?”

“Like I said,” Lu Han said in a voice that sounded almost obnoxious. “I have my ways.”

\----

True to his word, Lu Han appeared in front of Chanyeol again less than ten hours later. The skies were beginning to darken and Chanyeol was growing tired after being on his feet all day long.

“You’re in.” Lu Han said with a triumphant grin plastered on his face. 

Chanyeol immediately felt excitement bubbling inside him, replacing the tiredness. “That’s awesome!”

Lu Han nodded and fished something out of his pocket. He pulled out a set of keys and handed it to Chanyeol. “These keys are temporary. You need to get your student card to get you in and out of buildings and it’s used for identification. When you get it you should always have it on you.”

Chanyeol nodded and took the keys gratefully. “Thank you so much.”

Lu Han smiled. “It’s what I’m here for. You’re in the dorm room 490 along with two other men around your age. There is a bus arriving in less than twenty minutes that’s headed to the university. Be at the bus stop as soon as you can.”

“I will be,” Chanyeol confirmed, listening very intently. “I really can’t thank you enough.”

Lu Han shook his head. “It’s my job. Now get going, the stop is a block away.”

Chanyeol nodded and turned away after bidding goodbye, his heart hammering in his chest.

\----

The bus ride was short, only fifteen minutes, at most. The campus was huge and lit up with street lights, while dozens of students milled about, despite the late hour. Chanyeol got off the bus and headed towards one of the buildings, excited and relieved that he had a place to stay. When Chanyeol reached the apartment building, he couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the huge, grey building that seemed to touch the sky. 

When he walked into the apartment complex, he went in search of the elevator; however, when he found it, it was broken, so he had to walk up four of the six flights of stairs to get to his floor. 

The trek left him out of breath and he could barely focus on the room around him after he opened the door. How did someone manage to break an elevator?

“Stupid stairs,” he grumbled, shutting the door behind him.

“Hello?” 

Chanyeol whipped around at the sound of a groggy voice. He ended up face to face - or, shoulder to face - with an unknown male, a little older than himself and a lot shorter. He had messy brown hair and was clad in pajamas, as if he just rolled out of bed. “Who are you?” Chanyeol asked, voice slightly panicked, thinking he walked into the wrong apartment before remembering his key had opened the door.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” The stranger retorted. 

Chanyeol was at a loss. “I-I’m Chanyeol. Lu Han sent me here.”

At the mention of Lu Han’s name, the man’s face lit up. “You know Lu Han?” He asked.

Chanyeol nodded. “Who are you?” He repeated.

“My name’s Joonmyeon. Lu Han and I are good friends.”

Realization dawned upon the taller. “Oh, so you must be one of Lu Han’s _connections_.” 

“Sure,” Joonmyeon laughed and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Chanyeol.”

“You too,” Chanyeol smiled politely.

\----

Joonmyeon was very welcoming. He showed Chanyeol around the small apartment and even made him dinner, which the God graciously accepted.

Chanyeol learned that Joonmyeon and Lu Han were childhood friends. They lived beside each other as kids and would always play together until, one day, Lu Han was never home and didn’t want to play anymore, saying he had more important business to take care of. Eventually, Joonmyeon had gotten fed up and asked Lu Han why he was always away and would never play with him anymore and that’s when the older told him who he was and that he was basically an assistant for Gods. It came as a surprise to Joonmyeon that Lu Han had been in direct contact with Gods, helping them adjust to Earth. Ever since that day, Joonmyeon tried to help Lu Han with Gods whenever he could, seeing as a job like that could be really stressful.

Chanyeol learned that Joonmyeon was a mortal and had met Yifan through Lu Han when he had just moved to Earth. The two had hit it off instantly and started dating during high school and Yifan had even told him about his immortality, but their relationship didn’t work out so they broke up. Thankfully, the two had remained good friends and even continued to live together, despite their previous relationship status. 

He also found out that Joonmyeon currently has a long-term boyfriend, Yixing, who he has been with for the past three years. In turn, Chanyeol had answered a few questions about himself and Yifan before excusing himself to bed, briefly explaining how it’s been a long day and he’s tired. He bid Joonmyeon goodnight before heading to the bedroom Joonmyeon said would be his and collapsing on the bed, and, before he knew it, Chanyeol was already asleep.

 

The next day, Chanyeol was asking Joonmyeon questions about university, the courses, the times, how the grades worked. The entire process was all really new to him, since on Olympus you learned through experience and stories rather than text. There weren’t any mandatory classes or anything of the sort.

“Wait, so how do the schedules work-”

A toilet flushed down the hall, cutting Chanyeol off mid-sentence. “Is there someone else here?” He asked. 

“It’s just Yixing.”

As if on cue, a male with dark brown hair walked out of the bathroom. He stopped when he saw the tall male on the couch. “Oh, hey,” He spoke in a higher, slightly-accented voice that didn’t match his mature features. “You must be Chanyeol. I’m Yixing.”

“Oh, hello, Yixing,” Chanyeol said. “Joonmyeon’s told me a lot about you. It’s nice to meet you.”

The other male nodded. “You’re a God, right?” 

Chanyeol glanced at Joonmyeon. “You told him?” 

Joonmyeon nodded. “He knew about Yifan so I thought it’d help explain your sudden appearance in our dorm.”

The taller looked surprised. “You guys live together? I didn’t know. Now I feel like I’m imposing!” 

“It’s really not a big deal.” Yixing said, a kind smile on his face. “I’m always glad to help out a friend.”

“But there are only three rooms.” Chanyeol argued.

“Perfect.” Joonmyeon replied.

Yixing smirked. “We only ever used one room anyways. It’s alright.”

Chanyeol felt his eyes widen. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.” 

Yixing waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s fine.”

\----

When classes started a week later, Chanyeol was ecstatic. He decided that he would start looking for Baekhyun that week, now that he had everything sorted out. Lu Han had dropped off a dufflebag full of clothes along with a decent amount of money (enough to get him through a few months, anyways). He also borrowed some of Joonmyeon’s old textbooks - thank God he was a business major - so when the clock hit noon, he was more than ready to head out.

His first class was history, a GE course, which Joonmyeon explained meant that the class is a general education course that all majors are required to take in order to graduate. Chanyeol double checked his bag for the textbook when he was outside the dorm and smiled when he saw it tucked neatly between his notebooks. Despite getting lost along the way, he made it to his class in record time and was surprised that there were only a few people in the lecture hall. Chanyeol eyed all the empty seats and contemplated where to sit before deciding that it was probably best to sit somewhere in the middle since it was close enough that he could hear the professor but not so close where he would be noticed.

Chanyeol walked towards one of the desks and dumped his stuff on top of the wooden object before sitting down in the plastic seat. This classroom was considerably smaller than most of the others that Chanyeol had seen. Maybe most people didn’t choose history as their GE? Or, perhaps, they chose a different variation of the class since there were multiple options. Chanyeol chose this specific one, though, because he thought it would be the easiest since, well, he was there for most of the major events they would be studying throughout the semester.

A few minutes later, more students began to enter the class and soon most of the seats were filled, leaving only a few empty spots scattered around the room. 

On Chanyeol’s left, a girl around his age - his earth age, as Yifan called it - was scribbling on her open notebook. To his right, a man, probably older than him was tapping away on his computer. Yifan told him that human years are different than God years. Something about subtracting then multiplying the difference. 

All around him, people were either talking, reading, or studying and Chanyeol felt very out of place. 

The God continued to look around, curious, when his eyes landed on a boy with a familiar mess of dark brown hair sitting towards the front. He felt his breath catch in his throat, his heart pounding excitedly in his chest, as he watched the boy stare at his phone, occasionally swiping up or down, despite the open textbook on his desk.

Then, the boy turned his head and Chanyeol let out a small, barely audible gasp and couldn’t believe his eyes. Chanyeol has seen those expressive eyes and bright smile enough to recognize them anywhere.

The boy was Byun Baekhyun.

It was only a few moments later that the professor had walked into the class and started discussing the course outline before proceeding with his first lesson. Chanyeol tried to focus during the lecture, he really did, but he could barely hear a word the professor was saying over the rush of blood in his ears and the frantic beating of his heart. An hour into the class, Chanyeol had given up on focusing. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Baekhyun for more than two minutes, and he couldn’t help but wonder how lucky he was to be able to attend the same university as Byun Baekhyun.

When the class ended, Chanyeol gathered his stuff quickly, planning to go meet the brunet who made it impossible to concentrate in class. He stepped out into the flood of people hurrying to leave and waited by the exit. It was amazing - he and Baekhyun were going to be in the same class three days a week for an entire semester! He didn’t want to waste a single second. But, of course, Chanyeol wasn’t so lucky. After the class cleared out, not a single person remained aside from the professor, so the God stared at nothing but an empty room. He had let Baekhyun slip right through his fingers.

\----

Chanyeol tried to stop Baekhyun after class for two weeks before he had a chance to exit but after every class, Baekhyun would be one of the first ones out the door. The God had absolutely no idea what to do now. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the boy’s attention.   
Chanyeol sighed and flopped down on the couch in his dorm. Joonmyeon and Yixing were sitting on the floor watching a movie that Chanyeol wasn’t really paying attention to. It looked boring anyways.

The God stretched along the length of the couch, his hands folded neatly across his stomach and his head rested comfortably on the armrest. Chanyeol closed his eyes, hoping to nap for a few minutes. History wasn’t the only course he was taking this semester. He also had a law course and a business course but Chanyeol didn’t understand any of it, so the work was piling up and stressing him out more than he thought was even possible.

Plus, he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Baekhyun goes to the same school as him. What were the odds?

Chanyeol opened his eyes when he felt someone nudge his arm and looked up to see Joonmyeon, who had somehow gotten up and put on a coat without him noticing. He looked as if he was going out.

“Hey, Yixing and I are going to a coffee shop. Do you want to come with us?” Joonmyeon asked.  
Chanyeol nodded. “Sure.”

A few minutes later, Chanyeol found himself dressed in a black hoodie and blue skinny jeans, a snapback on his head, while Joonmyeon and Yixing waited for him by the front door. “Ready to go?”

Chanyeol nodded and followed his roommates out the door, down the stairs, and onto the sidewalk.


	2. Chapter Two

**Two**

The walk to the café was quick, barely fifteen minutes. On the way there, Yixing had explained that it was the best café nearby so most of the students at the university went there. 

After they arrived, the three were able to snag three seats at one of the round tables and sat down across from each other. The inside of the small building was nice. Cozy, even. The tables were glazed wood, the walls were painted a soft off-white color, and there were leather booths along the walls. Chanyeol could see why the place was popular.

Soon, a woman came over to take their order. Yixing asked for a hot chocolate, Joonmyeon ordered a coffee, and Chanyeol ordered a tea. It was a nice distraction, talking to his new friends instead of worrying about school work. University was much, much harder than he thought it was going to be. Chanyeol had no idea how his roommates did it. Joonmyeon and Yixing were like some sort of super heros. They never complained about anything, their marks were way above average, and they still managed to have time for each other.

When the sky began to darken and the streetlights turned on, Chanyeol decided it would be best if he headed back. He had a project due at the end of the week for his business course and he hasn’t even started it yet. “I think it’s time for me to go.”

Yixing nodded, taking a sip of his second hot chocolate of the night. “We’re going to hang back here for a bit longer. Be safe.”

“Alright, I’ll see you guys back home.”

Chanyeol had just stood up when he heard a chime sound that signaled that someone has just entered through the door to the coffee shop. He was just going to ignore the newcomer when he suddenly heard a high pitch voice call from the other side of the room. “Baekhyun! Took you long enough!”

Chanyeol turned to the sound of the voice, his chest filling with a mixture of hope and anxiety. He wasn’t really sure what to expect. Yixing did say that the café was the most popular one close to campus but what were the odds that Baekhyun and Chanyeol would be at the same café at the same time?

Regardless, Chanyeol’s eyes scanned over the café in search of that oh-so-familiar face. He let out a light gasp when his eyes fell upon one person in particular.

“Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol breathed out, quietly. Baekhyun was even more beautiful in person. Sure, he had seen him before but it was from across a classroom or using his fire but now he was so close he could _see_ Baekhyun.

The God wanted nothing more than to walk over to Baekhyun, introduce himself, and confess his attraction towards the human. He was about to walk over to the boy when what felt like butterflies in his stomach stopped him.

Joonmyeon followed Chanyeol’s gaze when he noticed that the latter had stopped moving and smirked the instant he realized his friend was staring at Baekhyun. He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Chanyeol groaned to himself. “What even are all of these emotions?” 

“You should go talk to him,” Joonmyeon encouraged. “You never know what could happen.”

After nearly fifteen minutes of contemplating going over, working up his confidence, and losing his confidence repeatedly, Chanyeol finally made up his mind began heading towards the boy, throwing all thoughts out the window. He could see Joonmyeon tapping Yixing to get his attention before pointing to Chanyeol but he ignored it. He knew that if he continued to think too hard about approaching Baekhyun or of his audience, he would back out. 

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, who was sitting with a group of boys all around the same age - early to mid twenties - and strided over. 

He was only two steps away - _two measly steps_ \- when his plan crumbled. 

Chanyeol had briefly made eye contact with Baekhyun and the distraction was enough to mess up everything Chanyeol had spent the past few minutes working up towards. 

Somehow, the nervous giant managed to miraculously slip, his feet sliding out from under him. He cried out, unable to hold himself upright. The last thing he remembered was falling fast, the world a blur, before pain erupted in the side on his head and everything went black.

When Chanyeol cracked his eyes open, the world swam before coming back into focus. He could see two familiar faces leaning over him.

“Are you okay, Chanyeol?” Joonmyeon asked, helping him up into a sitting position. The God groaned but nodded. Yixing was on the other side of him, one hand on his shoulder, steadying him.

“Oh, my gosh, sir, I am so sorry.” A waitress apologized, bowing over and over again to convey her genuinity. That or she just didn’t want to get fired. “I saw the spill and I forgot to clean it up.”

“It’s no big deal, I’ll just sleep it off.” Chanyeol grimaced when his head began to throb.

The woman shook her head, her face paling slightly. “Sir,” she raised a slender finger, pointing to Chanyeol’s head. Her voice wavered as she spoke, “You’re bleeding.” 

“What?” Chanyeol brows creased in confusion. Then, he felt it. There was a stinging pain coming from his temple. He lifted a hand and pressed it to the side of his head. It came away wet. “Oh.”

Chanyeol stared at the red liquid in wonder. It was the first time he had ever bled in his life since his God form usually prevented him from getting hurt. Immortality had its perks, but even so, Chanyeol had always been curious as to what real pain felt like, what blood looked like. Now that he knew, he wished he had never found out. Chanyeol could feel the warm liquid trailing down the side of his face and began to panic. 

“I’m bleeding,” he looked at the waitress in distress as he flailed his arms around. “I’m actually bleeding!” The waitress nodded, appearing nearly as distressed as him. Chanyeol winced when he felt the cut start to throb. 

The lady paled even more, if that was possible. “I’m really sorry!” 

The tall male shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” Chanyeol stood up slowly and took a step forward to try to comfort the waitress who looked like she was about to burst into tears. 

Joonmyeon rushed forward to try to steady Chanyeol, who swayed slightly on his feet. He heard a crunch below his foot and before he knew it, Chanyeol’s feet slipped from beneath him and he was sent barreling to the ground. Again. 

He was down for the count in a matter of seconds. Joonmyeon sighed in exasperation. “Should I call an ambulance?”

Chanyeol shook his head and sighed. His had hand landed on a small piece of glass and he winced. “What is going on? Why am I so unlucky!” He whined from his spot on the floor. Chanyeol tried to get up but the sudden movement made him feel dizzy. The feeling was foreign for the God and was more than a little impairing. Despite the situation, Chanyeol could hear Joonmyeon and Yixing laughing at him.

He was at a loss when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Chanyeol looked up cautiously, his head still pounding. When his eyes locked with the other’s, his heart leapt to his throat and his voice disappeared. The God turned red in embarrassment. ”Are you alright?” Baekhyun asked, his voice laced with concern.

Chanyeol took a deep breath to remain calm. “I should be fine. I’m just a little dizzy, that’s all.” The God glared at his roommates who were still stifling their laughter. Joonmyeon kneeled down beside him, followed shortly after by Yixing.

“Of course you’re dizzy, you just smashed your head.” Yixing laughed.

The shorter clicked his tongue in disapproval. “That’s not good at all. Stay sitting for a minute.” He turned to the waitress. “Do you happen to have a first aid kit?” 

The woman nodded frantically, clearly nervous. “I’ll go get it.” She announced and rushed off.

Truth be told, among the chaos, Chanyeol had forgotten all about Baekhyun but now that they were in such close proximity, it was hard to ignore the situation at hand.

“I’m trained in first aid. Just stay still and you’ll be fine.” He offered a dazzling smile and Chanyeol almost confessed right then and there. His voice was clipped and professional but still held a gentle, sympathetic undertone. “My name is Baekhyun, what’s yours?” 

Chanyeol looked away and mumbled. “I’m Chanyeol.” 

“Oh, wait a minute!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “Aren’t you in my history class?” Chanyeol hummed in acknowledgement. Baekhyun smiled. “That’s cool. How old are you?”

Chanyeol took a moment to think. He couldn’t very well blurt out his real age, Baekhyun would think he was crazy. He wasn’t used to his Earth age yet so he couldn’t recite it off the top of his head.. “I’m twenty-one in November.” 

“Oh, cool. I just turned twenty-one a few months ago,” Baekhyun replied. 

Chanyeol glanced up, smiling bashfully. “You’re older than me.” He stated. He hoped he didn’t sound as shy as he felt. If Baekhyun was a God, he’d be older than Chanyeol. Although, the God didn’t know if the whole God-Years-to-Earth-Years thing worked both ways.

Too distracted by his thoughts, Chanyeol didn’t notice that Joonmyeon had stood up until the man spoke. “Well, it seems like you’re in good hands. Yixing and I are going to pay for our orders. We’ll be back soon.” He grabbed Yixing and pulled him up. The two began walking away, Yixing looking confused as his boyfriend hauled him towards their table. Then Joonmyeon turned around and winked. 

Chanyeol groaned in embarrassment and thanked God Baekhyun didn’t notice.

Just then, the waitress came back holding the first-aid kit. Her hands were shaking as she handed it to Baekhyun, and Baekhyun accepted it, giving her a reassuring smile before she scurried away. He turned back to face Chanyeol and popped open the lid to pull out three items; a sleek silver item with two ends that form a triangle, a bottle of clear liquid and a white pad of… something squishy. 

“This may sting a little,” Baekhyun said, smiling in sympathy.

Chanyeol watched as the mortal picked up the silver object and brought it closer to his brow. His first instinct was to flinch away from the unknown object, to curl into himself, but he held himself back. He had been watching Baekhyun long enough to know that the boy would never even harm a fly.

Suddenly, he felt a sting when the object made contact with his skin. The pain was brief but Chanyeol still hissed in discomfort, wincing from the pain, “Ow.” 

Baekhyun chuckled lightly and the sound washed away any lingering pain Chanyeol felt. “Sorry about that. I had to get the glass out.”

“Wait, there was glass _in my head_? ” Chanyeol panicked, his voice raising slightly in alarm. “How did that even happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, when you hit your head on the table you knocked over a glass. The stupid thing landed on your head and shattered. And what good would it have done to tell you?” Baekhyun then picked up the bottle and poured some of the clear liquid on the white pad and leaned forward. Chanyeol watched as the boy’s hand got closer to his head. He wasn’t expecting it to _burn_. 

“Jesus Christ!” Chanyeol cursed, flinching away. “What the hell is that?”

Baekhyun tilted his head and looked at him curiously. “It’s just rubbing alcohol.”

“It fucking hurts!” 

“Yeah, well.” Baekhyun grinned. “Suck it up, you big baby.”

Normally, Chanyeol would be offended by the insult, but he couldn’t find it in himself when Baekhyun looked at him like that, his white teeth on display and his dark eyes full of amusement. Instead he bit his tongue and admired Baekhyun in close proximity. 

Before Chanyeol knew it, the mortal had pulled his slim hands away. “There. You’re good to go.” 

The God held back a whine. He wanted to remain in the boy’s presence for a little longer. 

Baekhyun helped pull Chanyeol up by the hand but he noticed when the God winced. Baekhyun immediately dropped Chanyeol’s hand, a frown on his face as he looked over Chanyeol with concern.

“Okay, maybe you’re not good to go.” He clicked his tongue. “How do you get glass in your hand?”

Chanyeol glanced down at his hand and saw a thin trail of red blood running from his palm down to his wrist. He looked up just as Baekhyun pulled out the rubbing alcohol again. “Oh, hell no!” He practically shrieked, hiding his hand behind his back. “Not again.”

“You have to.” Baekhyun chided. “It could get infected.”

Chanyeol shook his head and hid his hand behind his back. He was aware how childish he must’ve looked but _damn_ that stuff hurt. “I refuse.”

Baekhyun looked him up and down, the frown still pulling at the corner of his lips before shaking his head. “If you feel dizzy or the cut on your head starts bleeding again, I’d head to the hospital.”

“Thank you for the help.” The taller of the two beamed, suddenly in a better mood. Baekhyun seemed to have that effect on him.

Baekhyun waved his hands in the air. “It was nothing, really.” An awkward silence filled the air before he cleared his throat. “I guess I’ll be going now. I’ll see you in history, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun headed back towards his friends, some of whom had been watching. Most of them, however, had ignored the scene and continued eating.

Chanyeol couldn’t wait until the next history lecture. 

Joonmyeon and Yixing came over a few seconds after Baekhyun had left, matching grins on their faces. “So? How did it go?”

“Fine after you dunces left.” Chanyeol retorted. “I finally got to speak with Baekhyun.”

Yixing shook his head and laughed. “All it took was you bashing your head on a table.”

The God groaned. He knew they were never going to let him live it down. “Shut up.”

\----

Chanyeol went to class on Monday with a bit of a headache. Since his little… incident at the café (one which half the freaking school saw), Chanyeol’s head had been sore. He had slept in too long, hoping that the extra rest would calm the pounding in his skull but the pain was still there, dull and throbbing.

When the God reached the classroom, he walked in quickly, ready to head to his usual spot in the middle of the room. He was startled to see someone already sitting in his spot, their texts on the desk and their coat slung over the back of their chair - his chair. That’s what he got for being late.

With a sigh, Chanyeol scanned the room for another place to sit. There were few open spots left, mostly at the back of the class. The God didn’t like sitting at the back of the class if it could be avoided; it was too hard to hear what the professor was saying and his bad eyes couldn’t read the board.

Chanyeol decided to pick a seat in the front. It was off to the side, not directly in the middle of the class. He walked over to the chosen spot before the God dropped his bag on the floor and sat down on the chair, waiting for the class to start. While waiting, Chanyeol found himself thinking about Yifan. He didn’t know why but all he could think about was the fact that his friend had experienced Earth well before he himself had. Yifan had moved to Earth because it was interesting and he was curious. _It’s a fascinating world_ he’s said. He remembered when Yifan first contacted him after he’d left Olympus. Yifan couldn’t stop talking about how many differences there were and how it was way better on Earth than he thought it’d be. Chanyeol also remembered how almost every night, Yifan would complain about his homework. If only he’d gone to university instead of high school; if he thought that the workload there was big, Yifan would hate it at KU.

Chanyeol jumped when someone sat down on the chair next to him, startling him out of his daze. He didn’t even notice anyone approach him. Chanyeol looked over at the student out of curiosity. He wasn’t nosey or anything but Chanyeol still felt the strong urge to at least look. He was more than a little surprised to see Baekhyun sitting next to him.

“Hey,” Chanyeol greeted, trying to act as if his heart wasn’t going a mile a minute. Baekhyun looked over and smiled. He looked surprised too, as if he didn’t notice Chanyeol was there. 

“Oh, hey.” He responded. “You’re Chanyeol, right?”

Chanyeol nodded. “Yeah.”

“How’s your head?” Baekhyun asked, his voice more teasing than concerned.

Chanyeol blushed, recalling the embarrassing accident. “It’s fine, thanks for asking.” He mumbled. Baekhyun chuckled lightly at the other man’s flustered state.

The professor walked in then and everyone fell silent. Baekhyun returned his attention to the front of the class, as did Chanyeol.

Despite the conversation ending, Chanyeol’s heart still fluttered. He was finally, _finally_ talking to Baekhyun. It felt like a dream come true - a weight lifted off his shoulders.

Few words were exchanged between Chanyeol and Baekhyun throughout the rest of the class. The God was more invested in the lesson, as was Baekhyun. It was a boring course but he was determined to pass with a decent mark. He jotted down notes quickly as the professor spoke.

Chanyeol’s hand cramped up at least four or five times, each more painful than the last, before the class ended. It was times like these when he considered getting a laptop.

“Remember, there is an exam coming up. Prepare yourself and use your time wisely.” The professor announced to the class. Chanyeol had already packed up a few minutes prior, expecting the professor to dismiss them soon. “You’re free to go.”

Baekhyun stood at the same time as Chanyeol. He packed up his things while Chanyeol gathered up his courage and turned to his classmate with a smile. 

“So,” Baekhyun looked up. “I was wondering if you were free to study with me? Since the exam is coming up.” Chanyeol cursed his voice for betraying him, coming out shaky. Baekhyun nodded. 

“Sure. Did you have a time in mind?”

Chanyeol blanked - he didn’t think he’d get this far. “Um… Any time is fine, really.”

“Alright,” Baekhyun looked thoughtful. “Is tomorrow at noon okay?” 

The God nodded excitedly. “Yeah. Could we meet at the library?”

“No problem.” Baekhyun grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yep,” Chanyeol agreed, trying to hide his joy. “See you tomorrow.”

\----

Chanyeol got back from class around the same time as Joonmyeon and Yixing, feeling ecstatic. His two roommates looked at him questioningly; they didn’t understand why Chanyeol was suddenly so excited.

“Why are you bouncing off the walls?” Joonmyeon asked when Chanyeol practically skipped to the kitchen. Chanyeol filled a glass with water and drank half the glass in one swallow.

“You’re never going to believe this,” He paused for dramatic effect, setting the glass back onto the counter before continuing. “I have a date with Baekhyun.”

“Really?” Yixing asked, sounding incredulous.

Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck, smiling bashfully. “Well, it’s a study date but at least I’m getting somewhere with him.”

Joonmyeon laughed. “That’s true. After what happened in the café, I didn’t think he’d even talk to you again.”

“I didn’t embarrass myself that badly.” Chanyeol reasoned, pouting subconsciously. He looked pitiful with downcast eyes and flushed cheeks.

Yixing raised an eyebrow. “I have to disagree.”

“You totally humiliated yourself.” Joonmyeon laughed.

Chanyeol sighed and rolled his eyes. “You guys suck.” He announced before picking up his glass and heading to his room.

\----

Chanyeol arrived at the library at twelve o’clock on the dot, feeling both giddy and nervous. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck as waited for Baekhyun to arrive at the entrance. When Chanyeol first got to Earth it had been the end of Summer, the weather hot and humid, but now it was mid-October so the weather has cooled considerably. Although, most people only wore sweatshirts outside but Chanyeol wasn’t used to the cold. Just when Chanyeol decided he would wait inside, Baekhyun came into view. Chanyeol waved to his study partner, who quickly made his way up the stairs.

“Hey, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol smiled. “Hi Baekhyun.”

The shorter male smiled back. “Do you want to go inside?” He asked when a particularly cold gust of wind blew.

“Yes please!” Chanyeol said. Baekhyun laughed and pushed open the door, holding it open for Chanyeol.

The two made their way inside and made their way to a quiet corner at the back of the library. 

They sat across from each other at a small, rectangular table, and quickly made use of the space by opening their textbooks and spreading out their notes. Baekhyun had a pen in his hand and was going over a paragraph in the text for review.

Chanyeol tried to focus on studying but it was hard. Baekhyun was so close to him. It was the first time they’d ever truly hung out together. Granted, they were studying for exams but Chanyeol didn’t really care. The boy was so perfect in every way. He was smart, he was friendly, he was good at first aid. Then, there were his looks.

Byun Baekhyun was stunning. As he scanned the letters on the page, Baekhyun bit on his bottom lip softly, his brows furrowed in concentration and the glasses he had previously put on his face slid down the bridge of his nose.

The God looked down at his textbook when he realized he had been staring at Baekhyun. He couldn’t be caught gawking at the smaller, it would do nothing to help his case. Instead, Chanyeol looked down at the book in front of him and stared at the pictures.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence - Baekhyun studied as Chanyeol let his mind wander. Chanyeol was startled when Baekhyun suddenly asked, “Hey, Chanyeol, could you help me with this question?”

“Yeah, of course.” The God responded. “What’s the question?”

Baekhyun read aloud, “In the Greek myth Gigantomachy, what was the cause of the battle? Who was the human that aided the Gods and led them to victory?”

Chanyeol thought. Sure he was old but he hadn’t been alive that long. He couldn’t think off the top of his head. “Can I come see the text?” He asked. Baekhyun nodded, about to hand the text to the God but Chanyeol refused. “I’ll just come around.”

Chanyeol got up and made his way to Baekhyun’s side. Since there were only two chairs, Chanyeol stood hunched over the text, right next to Baekhyun. The smaller slid the text closer to the God and Chanyeol leaned forward. He read the paragraph about the battle, thinking back to what Yifan, whose grandfather had been alive at the time of Gigantomachy, had told him. 

“The battle was caused by the Giant Alcyoneus. He stole Helios’ cattle as a sign of war. The Gods were told they could only beat the Giants with the help of a mortal so the Gods chose Hercules, a powerful mortal.” Chanyeol finally answered.

“Wow,” Baekhyun replied. “How can you remember so much?”

Chanyeol chuckled. “I guess I just have a good memory.” He turned his head to the side to look at Baekhyun. Only then did he realise how close they were. Baekhyun’s side was pressed into Chanyeol’s, the God’s face only inches away from the brunet’s. They were pressed against each other.

Chanyeol felt himself blush but he didn’t pull away. Baekhyun looked at him then, too. Chanyeol thought that Baekhyun's cheeks were dusted pink. The shorter male cleared his throat. “Thanks for the help,” He said, avoiding Chanyeol’s gaze. Chanyeol could feel Baekhyun’s breath fanning over his skin. He shivered.

“No problem,” The God replied, trying to appear nonchalant. “Is there anything else you need help with?”

Baekhyun looked Chanyeol in the eyes. Before answering. “I don’t think so. If I have anymore questions, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol straightened then, heading back to his own seat.

Now he was never going to study, his mind going back to Baekhyun’s face so close to his own.

\----

“I should get going.” Baekhyun said, shutting his textbook a while later. “I have a class in a half hour and I don’t want to be late.”

Chanyeol nodded. “Alright.”

The two began to pack their belongings in silence. When they both had all of their things, Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun with a smile. “Thank you for studying with me. We should do it again sometime.”

“No problem. ” Baekhyun returned his smile. “You actually helped me a lot.”

“Well, I better get going.” Chanyeol said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He had already pulled his thin jacket on and had the scarf wrapped around his neck again.

“Me too.” Baekhyun paused, looking both nervous and hopeful. “I was thinking, maybe you and I should go out sometime?”

Chanyeol’s heart sped up and he could feel his eyes widen. “Really?”

Baekhyun nodded. “If you want to, of course.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Chanyeol smiled, his eye twitching.

The smaller male laughed. “Alright. I’m working tomorrow during the day but maybe you could pick me up at after work?”

“Where do you work?” Chanyeol asked.

“I volunteer at Seoul National Hospital on days I don’t have classes.”

Chanyeol took a breath to calm his racing heart. “What time do you get off?”

“I get off around seven, is that okay?”

The God smiled and shot him an enthusiastic thumbs up. He heard Baekhyun chuckle from in front of him, muffled as if he was trying to stop the sound from escaping. “Sounds great!”

“I really do have to go now. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Chanyeol!” Baekhyun turned and left.  
Chanyeol waited until Baekhyun was gone before bounding out of the library. He had to tell Joonmyeon and Yixing about what had just happened. Chanyeol felt elated because he did it. 

He had successfully gotten a date with Byun Baekhyun.

\----

Chanyeol got back to his dorm in record time. Joonmyeon was lying down on the couch, watching TV. He looked up when he heard the door open and close. “You are never going to believe what just happened.” Chanyeol exclaimed.

Joonmyeon sat up and stretched his arms above his head. “What happened?” He asked.

“I have a date with Baekhyun.” The God announced. “A real date.”

“Oh, wow.” Joonmyeon let his hands drop to his side. “That’s really great! How did that happen, I thought you were going out to study?”

Chanyeol nodded. “We were but he had class so he had to go. I said bye but all of a sudden he just asked me out!” He said in one breath.

“Slow down, I can barely understand you.” Joonmyeon laughed. “Wait, _Baekhyun_ asked _you_ out? Not the other way around?””

“Yep!”

Joonmyeon whistled. “Did he hit his head too?”

“Oh, shut up,” Chanyeol pouted. “I’m perfect boyfriend material.”

“Really?” Joonmyeon raised an eyebrow and gave Chanyeol a once over.

Chanyeol groaned. “I knew I should’ve told Yixing instead!”

\----

The next day, the God woke up early feeling nervous. Chanyeol had mulled over his outfit, his hair, his breath, his cologne, anything that was possible to fret over, he did. Chanyeol had finally decided on a white, baggy shirt along with skinny jeans, and a black snapback. 

He arrived at Seoul National Hospital a quarter to seven and decided to wait out in the courtyard until Baekhyun arrived.

Chanyeol had almost been ready to go inside the hospital fifteen minutes after the agreed upon time and search for the boy when he spotted the brunet exiting through the front doors.   
Baekhyun glanced around before spotting him with a mix between a smile and an apologetic look on his face. He rushed over to Chanyeol. “I’m so sorry I’m late! There was an emergency and I needed to help out.”

Chanyeol shook his head and smiled softly. “It’s not a problem. Should we get going?”

 

The two ended up walking to the same Café as before, sitting across from each other at one of the round tables. A waiter had already come and taken their order - a coffee for Baekhyun and a hot chocolate for Chanyeol - before leaving the two alone. 

Chanyeol was certainly bad a small talk, but luckily, Baekhyun was friendly and tried his best to hold a conversation. 

“How’s your head today?” He asked the taller.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Chanyeol’s hand unconsciously went to the scab on his temple. “Just a bump.”  
Baekhyun hummed. “You know, when I saw you fall, I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh at you or help you.” 

The God let out a surprised laugh, a little taken aback by the older’s response. “Well isn’t that sweet.”

Baekhyun folded his hands on the table and leaned forward with a smile. “So, Chanyeol, tell me about yourself. We’re in the same class but we barely know each other.”

“Um,” Chanyeol swallowed. What was he supposed to say? That he was a God who came to Earth because he had a crush? At Baekhyun’s expectant look, Chanyeol said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m majoring in Law and in Business. I don’t know very many people here since I just moved here from… Busan a few days before school started..”

“Oh, so you’re new to Seoul?” Chanyeol nodded. He wasn’t lying. “That’s cool! If you’d like, I could show you around sometime.” 

The waiter placed their orders on the table soon after, before bowing and leaving the two men alone. Baekhyun brought the steaming cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip. Chanyeol gawked, his face twisting in disgust. “How can you even drink coffee?” He grimaced. “It’s so bitter.”

Baekhyun chuckled. “I’m a university student. I spend hours studying so coffee basically keeps me alive.” He held out the mug towards Chanyeol. “Would you like a sip?”

The God shook his head vigorously. “Thanks, but I’ll pass on that offer.”

Baekhyun shrugged before taking another sip of the dark liquid. Chanyeol stuck his tongue out in distaste.

The older put the mug back on the table and smiled. 

They talked about pretty mundane things, and Chanyeol found he really liked Baekhyun. His personality was friendly and approachable it was hard not to like him. Baekhyun kept bouncing questions off of him, like a game of twenty questions; what’s your favorite color? What’s your favorite movie? What’s your favorite food? 

“Red, Aladdin, and ddeokbokki.” Chanyeol was a very simple man. Or God. “What about you?”

Baekhyun had answered purple, Dear John, and fish cakes.

“Do you like to read?” The older asked. 

Chanyeol shook his head. “I’ve never been good at reading. I can’t sit still for that long. Do you like it?”

Baekhyun looked contemplative, taking a moment to consider before he answered. “Sometimes. I like to read if the book is something I’m interested in.”

“What kind of books do you like?” Chanyeol took a sip from his now lukewarm drink.

Baekhyun blushed, his cheeks tinted pink. “I-I don’t know.”

The God raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know or you don’t want _me_ to know? Starting a friendship off on a lie is never good Baekhyun.” Chanyeol teased. The older covered his face with his hands in embarrassment, mumbling something incoherent. “What was that?” The God pressed. 

Baekhyun pulled his hands away from his face and glared. “I like romcoms.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. “I thought romcoms were for girls.” 

“That’s not true!” Baekhyun shook his head, his voice growing louder. “Romcoms are entertaining and emotionally pleasing for anyone.”

“Wow,” the God smiled. “I never would have taken you for such a sap.” Baekhyun leaned across the table and swatted at Chanyeol’s arm playfully, chuckling softly.

Baekhyun cleared his throat, his embarrassment gone and replaced by awkwardness. The subject had run its course and silence was once again the only thing audible aside from the low buzz around the two men.

“So, do you have any siblings?” Baekhyun asked, breaking the silence.

Chanyeol shook his head, grateful for something to talk about. “I don’t have any siblings but my best friend, Yifan, is practically my brother. We’ve been together since we were kids. When my mom and dad passed away he was there for me.” A small smile spread across his face. “He’s the closest thing to family I have left.”

Baekhyun stared attentively, listening carefully. “I’m sorry about your parents.”

“Don’t be,” Chanyeol waved a hand dismissively. “It was a long time ago.” _Maybe three, four centuries?_ “What about you? Do you have any siblings?”

The older nodded. “I have an older brother, Baekbeom. He’s a contractor in Incheon. I think he’s twenty six now. He’s the one who got me into volunteering.”

The two remained silent for a few seconds, both unsure of how to keep the conversation flowing. 

“So Baekhyun, why did you start volunteering at the hospital?” Chanyeol asked, initiating the conversation this time around.

Baekhyun looked thoughtful for a moment. “I started volunteering when I was in highschool. I needed to get my volunteer hours for a project in one of my classes. At first, the hospital had me doing pretty boring tasks, like changing the linens on the beds and sanitizing the worktables and counters, but I fell in love with it.” Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun’s face relaxed, his expression fond as he spoke. “To know that I played a role in helping someone made me feel good so I kept doing it. I’ve been volunteering for five years and now I’m a med student.”

Chanyeol whistled, impressed. “You’re a med student? That’s cool.” Chanyeol didn’t know what to say. He wracked his brain for anything relevant to the conversation. “You’ve been volunteering for a long time. I’ve never been inside a big hospital like Seoul National. What's it like?”

Baekhyun leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. “It’s really not all that. I volunteer in the ER, so there’s always something going on, be it a patient who’s cut themselves with a knife or a kid with a broken arm. As for the hospital itself, it’s really big, everything’s white and it smells like disinfectant.”

The God nodded along to the story, finding the brunet’s take on the hospital fascinating. The building in itself seemed really intimidating but Baekhyun made it sound alright.

“Enough about me,” Baekhyun waved his hands in the air to emphasize his point. “Tell me about you.” 

Chanyeol contemplated what to say, unsure of how to answer. In the end, however, he decided to tell the truth. “I play piano and guitar. I really like music so I find both of those instruments really fun.”

The older’s eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. “That’s amazing! I play piano too. I don’t play guitar though; I don’t have enough patience for that.”

The God smiled back, probably too wide and enthusiastic, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Finally, the two found common ground. “What level are you?” Chanyeol asked.

“I’m a level ten.”

Chanyeol’s mouth fell open in shock. “How long have you been playing?”

Baekhyun scrunched up his face and Chanyeol couldn’t help but think how cute he looked thinking. “I don’t even remember when I started. I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember.”   
The brunet picked up his coffee again. “How long have you been playing?”

 _A little over two thousand years_. “Since I was eight or nine?” 

“What level are you?” Baekhyun asked before taking a sip of his beverage.

“I’m a level eight.” Chanyeol answered. It was almost embarrassing that after two millenniums, he still hadn’t perfected the instrument. 

Baekhyun put his now empty mug down and slid his hand a little closer to Chanyeol to the point where they were so close the God could feel the warmth radiating off Baekhyun’s hand. He felt himself blush from his neck up. “Well, I wouldn’t mind watching you play guitar some time. Maybe you could show me a song or two?” 

The taller smiled. “I’d like that.”

The two continued to talk, the conversation easily switching topics now that they found similar interests. Chanyeol tried to explain guitar to Baekhyun and Baekhyun tried to explain some basic first aid. Needless to say, Park Chanyeol will never be a doctor and Byun Baekhyun should stick to playing the piano.

Finally, Baekhyun looked at his phone. “It’s getting really late, I should get going.” He stood and pushed his chair in. “I have an early class tomorrow morning.”

Chanyeol agreed and stood up as well, placing a ten dollar bill on the table to pay for both their drinks. “Alright, I’ll walk you to the bus stop.”

The older agreed. 

The walk to the bus stop was relatively quietly, only a few words exchanged between the two, and Chanyeol relished being in the other male’s presence. 

When they got to the bus stop, the taller decided to stay until the bus arrived but the brunet insisted he could leave. Baekhyun leaned against the bus shelter and Chanyeol had just said goodbye, hadn’t even made it a foot away, when he felt someone tugging on his wrist. He turned around and was a little surprised to see Baekhyun standing behind him. 

“We should go out again some time. I really like this.” He smiled hopefully.

Chanyeol nodded enthusiastically. “Of course!” 

Baekhyun laughed at his quick response. “Is this Saturday okay?” 

“Yes.” 

“Alright. We can meet at the café again around noon.”

The taller smiled. “I’ll see you then.”

\----

Chanyeol returned home with a blinding smile on his face, feeling happier than he’s felt in a long time. He wasn’t even phased by the treacherous walk up the stairs (when were they going to fix the damned elevator?). When Chanyeol got inside the apartment he kicked off his shoes and headed straight for the couch, wanting nothing more than to reminisce about his date.

“Hey, Chanyeol is that you?” He heard Joonmyeon voice come from somewhere in the kitchen and hummed in confirmation. “How was your night?”

“It was so great!” Chanyeol couldn’t keep the enthusiasm from his voice. “Baekhyun is even better in person!”

He heard Joonmyeon snicker and felt himself blush. “That’s good,” Joonmyeon walked from the kitchen and into the living room where Chanyeol was seated. “Tell me about it.”

It was like an invitation to speak and once Chanyeol began he couldn’t stop. “Baekhyun’s so great. He volunteers at the Seoul National Hospital, he plays piano, he loves dogs, but he has a cat who lives with his parents, he drinks coffee, he’s studying medicine, he wants to be a doctor-”

At that moment, Chanyeol heard a door open from down the hall, cutting him off mid-sentence. Yixing should be in class right now, it couldn’t have been him. “Is there someone else here?” He asked. 

“My friend Sehun. I’m helping him study for a test he has coming up.”

“Oh.”

A few seconds later, a tall male with multi-coloured hair walked out of the bathroom. He sat next to Chanyeol on the couch. “Hey,” he greeted. His voice was too high, considering his looks. “You must be Joonmyeon’s new roommate. I’m Sehun.”

“Hi, I’m Chanyeol.” Chanyeol replied, bowing slightly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The other male nodded. “You too.”

“Anyways,” Joonmyeon continued. “You were talking about your date?”

“Oh, right!” Chanyeol continued recapping his night, although not as enthusiastically as before. He was a little intimidated by Sehun. He looked like a very serious person, at least, more serious than Joonmyeon anyways. “So Baekhyun is going to be a doctor and he’s just really amazing and a great human being. He asked me out again so we’re meeting on Saturday.”

Sehun looked thoughtful. “You said Baekhyun, right?” Chanyeol nodded. “I think I know who you’re talking about.”

Chanyeol lifted one eyebrow skeptically. “Really?” He asked, more than a little curious. 

“Yeah,” Sehun nodded. “He’s friends with Jongdae and Minseok.”

“Oh, really?” Joonmyeon sounded just as shocked as Chanyeol felt. “I thought they moved to China a while ago.”

Sehun nodded. “They did but they came back to Korea around six months ago after Jongdae finished school.”

“That makes sense.” Joonmyeon nodded his head.

Chanyeol was very confused; he tried to keep up with their conversation but he was missing too much information. “Who are Minseok and Jongdae?”

Sehun looked towards Chanyeol and the God could see the realization dawn upon him that he didn’t know who they were talking about. “We were really good friends back when I first moved here from Busan,” Sehun explained. “They helped me with the dialogue here in Seoul so we worked as each other’s translators.” Sehun informed. “The two were planning on going to Beijing as part of an exchange program. Yixing helped them with Chinese and in turn they taught him Korean. I lost contact with them after they moved away, though.”

Joonmyeon sighed, as if reminiscing. “They were really nice people too.”

Chanyeol still didn’t understand. “How do they know Baekhyun?”

Sehun shrugged. “Minseok is the RA and Jongdae is his boyfriend. Minseok and Baekhyun met a few years back when Baek first came here. As for Jongdae, they are two peas in a pod. They hit it off as soon as they met.” 

“I thought you would have met them. Minseok is the RA after all.” Joonmyeon stated.

Chanyeol almost understood. He made a mental note to ask Baekhyun about Minseok and Jongdae on their upcoming date.

\----

In class the next day, things went much better than Chanyeol thought it would. He got there early and sat in the front, seeing as he was growing fond of that spot. He placed all his things on his desk and waited for the class to start.

He heard shuffling a few minutes later and turned his head, surprised to see Baekhyun sitting next to him, a smile on the smaller’s face. “Hi,” He greeted in a happy voice.

“Hey,” Chanyeol responded, feeling nervous but excited. Baekhyun sat beside him by choice this time, not because there were no other options. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m getting a little nervous about exams though.” Baekhyun admitted. “I chose history because I thought it would be easy but it’s hard to remember everything.”

Chanyeol nodded understandingly. Even he found a lot of it confusing, despite being alive for most of it. The God had very little knowledge of World War II or The Great Depression. The only part of history he was good at was Greek Mythology. “When are exams?”

Baekhyun laid his head on his desk and sighed. “Next week.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol gasped. “I knew that they were close but I thought I had more time than that.”

“Nope, we’ve got midterms.”

Chanyeol laid his own head down and closed his eyes. “Am I going to fail?”

Baekhyun giggled. “That’s up to you.”

“I’m going to fail.” He accepted his fate. 

“So,” Baekhyun asked after a few seconds of silence. “I was wondering if you want to study with me tonight at the library?”

Chanyeol lifted his head. “Really? I’d like that a lot.”

Baekhyun laughed and sat up in his seat. “Okay then. Meet me at eight?”

The God nodded. Then, the professor walked in and class started.


	3. Chapter Three

**Three**

Chanyeol was the one who arrived late, this time around. Baekhyun hadn’t bothered waiting for him outside, as the fall winds were becoming much cooler. Instead, he entered the library and headed back to their usual table to wait for the taller to arrive.

Not too much time passed before Chanyeol came barreling through the door, looking flushed and out of breath as if he’d been running.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Chanyeol apologized when he sat down. “I fell asleep and woke up late. I swear I nearly had a heart attack when I woke up and saw the time.”

Baekhyun laughed, “You aren’t that late. A few minutes is nothing.”

The two of them started studying then, both taking out their notes and spreading them out in front of them on the table. “So, where should we start?”

Chanyeol shrugged and ran a hand through his red hair. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Do you mind if we start with Joseon Dynasty timeline?” Baekhyun asked, flipping to a page in his textbook and pointing to a paragraph. “The professor said that it would be on the exam but I can’t seem to remember much about it.”

“Sure.” Chanyeol said and sifted through his notes for the section about the Joseon Dynasty. He had been alive for that but he didn’t really know too much about it since he and Yifan were young. Gods aged slower than mortals, so they were technically still considered ‘children’ in Olympus. “What are you having trouble remembering?”

Baekhyun read over the paragraph as he answered. “It’s just the timeline. When it started and ended, what came before and after the dynasty, specific events that impacted a new era; things like that have always been hard for me to remember.”

Chanyeol nodded in understanding. “The Joseon Dynasty ruled Korea, succeeding the 400-year-old Goryeo Dynasty in 1392 through the Japanese annexation in 1910.” He receited. He continued to speak about the different events that made the Joseon Dynasty and why it lasted so long. 

When Chanyeol stopped talking, he noticed that Baekhyun was staring at him with his mouth open in shock. “Wow, how do you remember all that?” He asked, sounding both impressed and incredulous. His brown hair had grown out some and his eyebrows were hidden beneath his bangs.

“I don’t really know. I’ve always been good at history, especially older history.” Chanyeol replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

Baekhyun nodded in awe. “Come sit next to me, I want to see your notes for a minute.”

Chanyeol obliged, moving his chair next to Baekhyun’s and bringing his books with him,. The older male took the notes and read them over, his glasses perched on his nose.

“These aren’t very detailed.” Baekhyun noted. “They’re very straight forward and to the point.”

Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, I have a good memory so I only write down what I don’t understand or what I need to work on.”

The mortal nodded. “That makes sense. It would make more sense if I could read your writing, though. Your notes look like they were written by an elementary school student.” Baekhyun teased, bumping shoulders with the taller. Chanyeol chuckled lightly and nudged back. 

“Hey, if it weren’t for me, you’d be lonely, studying by yourself and having to Google answers.” He shot back. Baekhyun pouted then but it was playful. 

“I don’t need your notes or your company.” He mumbled. “I can study by myself.”

Chanyeol laughed. “Is that why you asked me here?” 

Baekhyun scoffed in annoyance and smacked the other’s arm lightly. “You suck.”

“I’m smart.”

Baekhyun crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his chair. “Back to the question, can you help me memorize these?”

Chanyeol sighed in mock exasperation. “If I must.”

\----

They bid goodbye at midnight when the library closed, promising to see each other on the weekend. Chanyeol got home with a smile on his face, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. It was a usual occurrence whenever he hung out with Baekhyun.

Baekhyun got home around the same time too, his roommates both staring at him with interest. 

“Why are you smiling like a creep?” Jongin asked. Him and Kyungsoo were sitting together on the couch, the shorter man resting him head on Jongin’s chest.

Baekhyun’s smile grew wider, if possible. “No reason.” He didn’t notice Jongin casting Kyungsoo a questioning look, or how Kyungsoo seemed very curious.

“Are you sure nothing happened? You seem more upbeat than usual.” Kyungsoo inquired.

Baekhyun shook his head and sat down in the free space beside the two. “Nothing happened, I’m just in a good mood.”

With a shrug, the younger male returned his gaze to the television.

As he was getting ready for bed thoughts of Chanyeol ran through his head.

\----

On Saturday, Chanyeol met Baekhyun in front of the café. Since it was the weekend, the streets were buzzing with life; parents were walking with their children, couples were shopping together, and friends were hanging out. It had been hard to spot the short brunet amidst the crowd but he had eventually managed.

“So, what’s the plan?” He asked Baekhyun.

The boy smiled up at him cheerfully. “I’m going to take you on a tour of Seoul. Since you’re new, I thought it’d be helpful to show you around a little.”

Chanyeol tried to hide his smile, touched that Baekhyun remembered that he was new. “That sounds awesome!” 

Baekhyun grinned back in response and grabbed the younger’s forearm gently, leading him through the crowd of people. Chanyeol felt his face heat up from the contact, his cheeks tinting a light pink at the way Baekhyun’s hand left a pleasant warmth on his skin. He cleared his throat and shook his head, trying to steer his thoughts away from Baekhyun’s hands. 

“Where are we heading first?” He inquired. 

Baekhyun shrugged, a smirk on his face. “It’s a surprise. You’ll just have to wait and see.” 

A few minutes later, Chanyeol found himself following Baekhyun onto the subway. He’d never been on a subway before so the feeling of moving so fast combined with the amount of people on the cart was overwhelming.

The God grabbed onto the silver bar for support but his hand was quickly pushed away. He looked down at Baekhyun questioningly. “It’s dirty.” The older answered the unasked question.

Chanyeol looked at his hands in disgust before wiping them frantically on his jeans causing Baekhyun to chuckle at his antics. 

At the first stop, the doors opened and some of the passengers began pushing their way out, while others tried to shove their way on board. Chanyeol noticed an empty seat and stared. His legs were already tired but he didn’t know if he could sit down. 

Apparently, Baekhyun caught onto Chanyeol’s inner turmoil. “You can sit if you want. The seat isn’t as dirty as the bars.”

Nodding, the God managed to take a few steps towards the seat, working his way through the group of people, but just as he was about to sit down, a teenager easily made her way through the crowd and sat down. In the chair. The only open seat.

Chanyeol sighed and turned to make his way back to where Baekhyun was still standing a few feet away. He was grinning, his eyes forming crescents. It was endearing. 

“You have to be more assertive if you plan to live in Seoul,” he supplied in between bouts of giggles. “You’re too nice - you’re going to be pushed around.”

Chanyeol sighed. “It’s not my fault I’m a nice human being.”

At that, Baekhyun giggles became laughter, bright and happy. It made Chanyeol laugh too, despite having lost his seat.

\----

The two got off at every stop Baekhyun deemed interesting enough, but seeing as the boy thought everything was interesting, the two had walked around a majority of the afternoon. Chanyeol was like a kid in a candy shop, staring at everything in amazement and excitement. He had looked in every store, following Baekhyun closely. He saw what seemed like every single restaurant, tourist attraction, and subway station located in downtown Seoul. It made him feel like a tourist himself.

They had just turned down another street when Baekhyun turned to him excitedly. “There’s this really amazing music store a block away. Do you want to go check it out?” 

Chanyeol nodded in excitement. He’d left his piano and his guitar back in Olympus with Yifan and although he was certain that if he asked - begged - enough Yifan would bring the instruments to Earth, he didn’t want to ask too much of him. 

The music store hadn’t been too far away and the two had gotten there in a matter of minutes. The outside was nothing more than a brick wall and a door; a faded red sign above it read _Capstone Music_. Chanyeol thought the place looked sketchy but Baekhyun didn’t take notice and pulled the door open. 

The sound of chimes echoed in the large shop, and, thankfully, the inside was cleaner than the outside. There were many instruments, ranging from guitars hanging on the wall to pianos placed elegantly to drum sets displayed around the store. 

“Hello, welcome to Capstone Music.” A monotone voice rang out from behind the counter. 

Baekhyun smiled. “It’s just me, Kyungsoo. No need to get all formal.” 

Chanyeol looked at the man - Kyungsoo - in wonder. He was short and had fiery red hair that reminded Chanyeol of his own when he was a God. His cheeks were rounded and made him look fairly young. The man’s lips were thick and almost heart-shaped. The last thing he took notice of were the man’s wide eyes. Was it even possible to have eyes that big? “This is my friend, Chanyeol. Chanyeol, this is Kyungsoo, my roommate. His dad owns the store.”

Kyungsoo bowed and the taller did the same. “It’s nice to meet you,” Chanyeol greeted. 

“Likewise.”

Baekhyun pushed the smallest male lightly. “Stop being so stiff. I thought that when you and Jongin made it official you would loosen up a bit.”

“What about me?” 

Chanyeol nearly jumped out of his skin when another man appeared from behind one of the many shelves of percussion instruments. This man was tall, nearly as tall as Chanyeol. His skin was dark and his hair was long. He was slender but muscular and his shoulders were very broad.  
Baekhyun smiled. “Nothing much. We were just discussing how uptight your boyfriend is. You should really do something about that.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jongin walked over to Kyungsoo and slung an arm over his shoulder. “Oh, I plan to.”

Baekhyun gagged while Chanyeol stared in confusion, slightly uncomfortable. He tapped Baekhyun gently on the shoulder to get his attention. “Who’s that?” 

“That’s Kyungsoo’s boyfriend and my other roommate, Jongin. He helps run the store when he’s not off dancing.” Baekhyun supplied. Chanyeol nodded, even though the answer raised more questions. He would just ask the older to clarify later.

“So, what brings you here today?” Jongin asked, the question directed at Baekhyun.

The brunet shrugged. “I wanted to see her.”

Jongin smiled. “She’s where she always is. Feel free.”

“Okay,” Baekhyun said and grabbed Chanyeol’s hand, pulling him away from the other two.  
He looked like a kid now, his eyes alight. When the other two were out of earshot, Baekhyun looked up and smiled. “You know,” he said when he met Chanyeol’s eyes. “This place never ceases to amaze me. I love everything about it.”

“Yeah, the smell of mold is a nice touch.”

Baekhyun snorted, pulling his hand away and smacking Chanyeol’s arm playfully. “Is it the building that smells or is it you?” He retorted lamely. 

“Why are you smelling me?” The God couldn’t stop the grin that formed on his face at the look of disgust on Baekhyun’s.

The older male chose to ignore Chanyeol and instead head towards the far corner of the store. The God followed, curious as to where Baekhyun was going. Then his eyes landed on the grand piano and his jaw nearly dropped. It was the most beautiful piano Chanyeol had ever seen, black and sleek and shiny. 

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Baekhyun smiled. Chanyeol nodded in reply. Then, the shorter male made his way over to the bench and sat down. He placed his slender fingers on the keys and pressed down softly. The sound that was emitted was sharp and clean, but at the same time contained the soft delicacy only a piano possessed.

Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun fingers skittered over the keys, his foot pressing the pedals. He had no idea what the latter was playing but it sounded beautiful. Chords echoed and reverberated through the shop and it made the God shiver.

Chanyeol didn’t know what he liked more; the music or the person playing.

\----

“Do you think they’re together, Soo?” 

“I don’t know, Jongin. Why don’t you ask like a normal human being instead of sitting back here and watching them like a creep?” Kyungsoo replied, rolling his eyes.

The younger pouted. “I don't want to.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You go do it.”

Kyungsoo ignored Jongin’s incessant whining and glanced over at Baekhyun and Chanyeol at the back of the shop. “Do you see that?” He motioned with his chin, cutting Jongin off mid-rant.

Jongin stopped whatever he was saying and looked over to where his boyfriend was indicating. “See what?” He cocked his head in confusion, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

Kyungsoo couldn’t stop the fond smile that pulled at his lips. “Chanyeol looks at Baekhyun the same way I look at you.”

\----

They left the shop after Baekhyun played a couple more songs, each one sounding more beautiful than the last, and Chanyeol bowed goodbye to Baekhyun’s roommates as Baekhyun lead him away. 

After hours of walking, Chanyeol’s legs were sore and he was feeling exhausted. Baekhyun noticed and suggested they called it a day, to which the younger agreed. 

Once the two were on the subway again, the sky was already becoming dark, so Chanyeol was able to sit down in an open seat since the number of passengers had decreased due to the time of day. Baekhyun silently took a seat beside him. 

The God felt his eyes closing when he remembered something. “Baekhyun, you’re friends with Minseok and Jongdae, right?”

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, surprised. “Yeah, we’re friends. How did you know?”

“I’m friends with Yixing and Joonmyeon. Sehun told me about them.”

Baekhyun’s face went from confused to excited in a matter of seconds. “You know Lay and Joon?” He practically shrieked. “I haven’t seen those too in so long! How are they?” 

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows.”Who’s Lay?” He asked.

“Yixing. I couldn’t never pronounce his name so he told me to just call him Lay.” Baekhyun explained. 

“Oh,” Chanyeol didn’t know what else to say. “That’s cool. They were there when I hit my head at the café.”

“Really? I didn’t see them.” Baekhyun sounded incredulous, pouting slightly. 

Chanyeol chuckled. “I guess you were too focused on my head. What about Minseok and Jongdae? How’d you meet them?”

Baekhyun’s the smile was back again. “Minseok is the RA for our building and Jongdae is his boyfriend. We’ve known each other for a while, now. They just got back from China a while ago.”   
Chanyeol nodded along to the familiar story. So Sehun hadn’t been far off with his explanation. 

“That’s pretty cool. I wonder how Yixing and Joonmyeon met.”

“You don’t know?” Baekhyun asked. He sounded incredulous. “They have the funniest story ever.”

That peaked Chanyeol’s interest. “What happened?” 

Baekhyun leaned forward. “Well, you see, it started when…” The older paused, then smirked. “You know what, I’ll just let them tell you.” 

The God shook his head in annoyed disbelief. “You can’t just start a story and not finish it! Tell me, Baekhyun.”

The said male shook his head. “I can’t do that, it’s better when they tell it.”

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whined. “You’re so mean.”

\----

Chanyeol insisted on walking Baekhyun back to his dorm, since it had grown cold and dark outside. The God might not know much about Seoul but even he knew that walking around in dark alone was dangerous.

The walk from the subway to Baekhyun’s apartment was short but pleasant. The two spoke about their favorite stops and items they passed when they browsed through the stores and it was nice, despite the cold wind beginning to nip at Chanyeol’s skin through his thin jacket. 

Suddenly, Baekhyun stopped in front of a building. “This is me,” he explained. Chanyeol hadn’t even noticed they’d made it back to campus. “Thanks for coming out with me, I had a great time.”  
Chanyeol could feel the blood rush to his cheeks. “It should be me thanking you for showing me around.”

Baekhyun laughed lightly, “It was nothing, really.”

Chanyeol was left without a clue how to keep the conversation going. It wasn’t necessarily awkward; however, if the quiet continued for much longer it would be. The God wracked his mind for something - anything - to say to make the situation less tense but Baekhyun had already beaten him to it.

Chanyeol looked up just as Baekhyun leaned forward, pushing himself up onto his tippy-toes and pressing a brief kiss on the taller’s cheek.

Chanyeol spluttered, not expecting the action. It caught him off guard and he could feel his cheeks turning bright red. 

“I guess I’ll see you soon.” Baekhyun said once he backed away. Chanyeol nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts still lingering on the brief kiss - if one could even call it that. He touched his cheek where Baekhyun kissed, still in a state of shock.

Baekhyun chuckled and turned away, pushing the buttons on the lock to open the door. The boy turned around one more time with a smile. “I’ll see you in class, Chanyeol.”

Then, Baekhyun stepped inside his apartment. The door slammed shut and for a few seconds, the God stood, cemented in place. When he regained his senses, Chanyeol groaned in absolute mortification.

\----

“And he said _‘See you in class, Chanyeol_.’” Chanyeol was retelling his date to Joonmyeon, who was paying close attention, seemingly very interested in the God’s love life. “That mean’s we’re going out again, right?”

Yixing laughed from his spot on the couch. “Did you set up another date?” 

Chanyeol hesitated. “No but he said he’s going to contact you because I don’t have a phone.” He lowered his head in a mixture of embarrassment and excitement. It was a strange feeling. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Yixing waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine.”

“What happened after that?” Joonmyeon asked, moving to sit next to his boyfriend and leaning into his side, while Yixing easily wrapped his arm around him to keep him close.

Chanyeol shrugged. “I walked home?” It sounded more like a question than an answer. Joonmyeon looked displeased by his response.

“What kind of an ending is that?” He pouted. Chanyeol noticed the fond expression on Yixing’s face as he looked down at Joonmyeon, a small smile on his face as he ran his fingers through Joonmyeon’s hair with his free hand. The God held back his own smile at the scene.

“What do you want me to say?” Chanyeol shot back instead. “I sheathed my sword and hopped back onto my noble white horse and rode into the sunset?”

Joonmyeon crossed his arms. “Well, you don’t have to be sarcastic.”

\----

A week later, Yixing’s phone rang while the three males were sitting together, eating chinese take-out for dinner and discussing the day’s events, interrupting their conversation. Yixing picked up the device, looking at Joonmyeon for permission before answering. “Hello?”

After a few seconds of silence, Yixing pulled the phone away from his ear and held it out to Chanyeol with a smile. “It’s for you.”

The God’s eyebrows furrowed, slightly confused, and he took the phone from the older. “Hello?”

“ _Hi, Chanyeol_.” A familiar voice echoed from the speaker. “ _It’s Baekhyun._ ” Chanyeol couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face at the sound of Baekhyun's voice. It felt like forever since they had last spoken and the God was craving Baekhyun’s presence. They still saw each other in class but they hadn’t gotten a chance to hang out since their date around Seoul.

“Hey Baekhyun.” He tried to hide the happiness in his voice to no avail. “What’s up?”

“ _I was wondering if you were free tomorrow? My friend and I were supposed to got to Lotte World together but he cancelled and now I have an extra ticket._ ” Baekhyun informed. 

Excitement bubbled up inside Chanyeol, making him so giddy that feigning nonchalance was no longer an option. “Seriously? I’d love to! What time?” He was pretty sure he was speaking too fast but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“ _Could you meet me at Sangwangsimni Station at eleven?_ ” Baekhyun asked, the smile evident in his voice.

Chanyeol nodded, forgetting momentarily that the former couldn’t see him before agreeing to the time vocally. “Eleven is great!”

“ _Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye Chanyeol._ ”

“Bye.”

Once he’d hung up, Chanyeol turned to Yixing with a shit-eating grin on his face as he handed the older male his phone. “Guess who’s got a date?” He asked rhetorically.

Joonmyeon sighed in mock-annoyance at the God’s antics and Yixing shook his head. The two made eye contact for a moment and Yixing smiled. “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

\----

“ _How’s Earth treating you?_ ” Yifan asked, his image distorted by flame. 

Chanyeol smiled. “It’s actually really cool. I don’t know why I never went with you when you came.”

Yifan smiled and nodded. “ _How are you and Baekhyun?_ ” 

“Freaking _awesome._ ” Chanyeol beamed. “I have another date tomorrow.” He smirked. “We’ve kissed too.”

“ _A kiss on the cheek isn’t a real kiss._ ” Yifan laughed. Chanyeol opened his mouth to ask how he knew but Yifan beat him to it. “Lu Han already told me.”

Chanyeol laughed. “Of course he did. I bet Joonmyeon told him.” Both Gods felt a slight twinge of sadness. 

“You know,” Chanyeol said, more serious than before. “I really miss you.”

Yifan nodded. “ _I miss you too._ ”

There was a brief silence, but it was comfortable. The two talked for hours about Chanyeol’s adventures on Earth until Yifan yawned. “ _I’ve got to get to bed._ ” He apologized. “ _I promise to talk to you soon._ ”

Chanyeol nodded, feeling his own exhaustion catching up with him. It was almost three in the morning and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open. “Alright. Say hi to Taozi for me. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Just like that, Yifan's image disappeared and Chanyeol let sleep envelop him.

\----

Sanwanshimi station wasn’t nearly as busy as the countless other stations Chanyeol’s visited, so spotting Baekhyun waiting by the tracks was easy. He walked up to the older, positively bursting with energy. His mind was still lingering on the kiss from the previous week. Did it mean something? Did Baekhyun like him back? Questions were racing around his mind a mile a minute and it was making him bounce with excitement. 

“Hey, Baek!” He practically squealed. He didn’t even think about the nickname, it felt natural for him.

“Hey,” Baekhyun laughed at Chanyeol’s obvious enthusiasm. His cheeks were tinted pink. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“I’m glad too.”

Baekhyun had opened his mouth to say something when the subway shrieked to a halt, cutting off the boy before he even had a chance to start. 

“That’s our train,” Chanyeol pointed out, wanting to give Baekhyun the chance to say what he wanted to say but he also didn’t want to wait another half hour until the next one. 

The older nodded and took Chanyeol by the hand, leading him towards the cart.

\----

Lotte World was exactly what Chanyeol had expected. He figured it would be big, but big was the understatement of the century. There were rides as far as the eye could see, and every few metres was a new line for a different roller coaster. The smell of cheap popcorn and cotton candy was strong in the air and Chanyeol grimaced when he felt gum squish under his shoe. 

Since it was the weekend, the place was full of people. Children were running about, their shrill cries of laughter almost as loud as the the rides themselves. Baekhyun chuckled at the look of awe on the God’s face and Chanyeol blushed. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” He admitted. The older nodded and grabbed his hand.

“I get it. Where do you want to start?”

Chanyeol looked around. He honestly had no idea. He looked at Baekhyun and shrugged in response. “You can choose.”

Baekhyun smiled, his eyes alight with mischief. One thought crossed Chanyeol’s mind: _oh no._ “We should start on the biggest ride since it’s still early. There will be less people in line.”

The younger nodded and let Baekhyun lead him through the sea of people, towards what looked like the world’s most nauseating looking contraption.

Baekhyun had lead Chanyeol to the Giant Loop, a ride that seemed to go at least a hundred miles a minute and turn each riders’ stomach considering the disturbing amount of twists and turns. Chanyeol gulped as he stared at the steel coaster looming above him. 

All around him were adults and teenagers, buzzing with excitement, and Chanyeol couldn’t help but wonder how they found anything about the situation fun.

The line went by relatively quick, Baekhyun being right about the time. Behind them, however, the line seemed to stretch on. “We had good timing.” Baekhyun smiled up at the younger.

“Yep,” Chanyeol gulped as the line moved forward, a few steps closer to the Giant Loop. “Great timing.”

The straps that were holding the God in place were tight on Chanyeol’s lap and chest, that being the only reassuring thing about the experience. He looked over at Baekhyun, who was seated next to him with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes. Chanyeol looked at his lips again and found himself blushing. Why hadn’t Baekhyun brought up the kiss on the cheek yet? Was he not interested in Chanyeol? 

Just then, a man’s voice rang out from the speaker above their heads, cutting off his thought. “ _Thank you for coming to Lotte World today. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle and enjoy your ride!_ ”

Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol’s hand and squeezed. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Then, the roller coaster began to creep forward and Chanyeol squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t like the feeling of moving upwards, ever so slowly. It was torture. 

Chanyeol didn’t know how long he’d had his eyes closed at that point but he wished the damned ride would end already. Suddenly, he felt a pat on his arm. 

Chanyeol opened his eyes, looked to his side and saw Baekhyun grinning. “Don’t close your eyes.” He demanded. “It’s more fun when you watch.”

The God groaned but did as the older said. Soon, they were at the peak of the ride, the first loop in sight. Chanyeol swallowed around the lump in his throat. _I will not scream,_ he repeated to himself like a mantra. _Not in front of Baekhyun. I will not scream._

Then the roller coaster dipped and flew forward, pushing Chanyeol back against his seat. The sound of Baekhyun’s ecstatic laughter next to him was the only other thing he could hear aside from the wind rushing in his ears and his own frantic heartbeat. The air was sucked from his lungs and his stomach lurched.

Chanyeol screamed.

\----

“You should’ve told me you don’t like rides!” Baekhyun chastised. His voice was stern, but Chanyeol could tell that he was hiding his concern. “I wouldn’t have made you come with me!”

Chanyeol waved him off, insisting he was okay. The two were sitting on a bench outside the park, where there was less people. The autumn breeze was doing nothing to ease the God’s overwhelming sense of nausea. 

“I’m fine.” He promised, forcing a smile. It was wobbly at best. 

Baekhyun crosses his arms and pouted like a child. “You threw up. You are certainly not fine.” He sighed and pressed a hand to his temple. “Now I feel bad.” 

Chanyeol shook his head, reaching to take the older’s small hand into his own larger one. “Don’t feel bad, it was my fault.” The guilt in Baekhyun’s voice made his heart throb. “I chose to come here with you. If anything, I should be sorry. I ruined your day.”

The shorter removed his hand from his face and shook his head. “I asked you to come, though. If I hadn’t asked, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know this would happen.” Chanyeol reasoned.

Baekhyun sighed. “Well, I don’t want to be the one who ruined this date. How about we go back to my room and hang out there?” He suggested. “Jongin and Kyungsoo are on a date and they shouldn’t be back until later.”

“I’d like that.” Chanyeol replied with a smile.

\----

Baekhyun kicked the door closed before throwing off his shoes and jacket, hanging his scarf on the coatrack. He took Chanyeol’s coat and hung it in the closet before heading to the living room. Baekhyun’s dorm was nice, Chanyeol noted. It seemed bigger than his. Not to mention it was much cleaner (although, he was the reason his dorm was messy in the first place).

“Do you want anything to eat?” Baekhyun asked as he made his way to the kitchen.

Chanyeol shook his head. “I think I’ll have to pass on that. If I eat I think I’ll throw up again.”

Baekhyun frowned. “You’re still feeling sick? I can get you gravol if you want.”

“I think I’ll be fine with water.”

“Okay. Feel free to sit where ever you want.” Baekhyun then headed to the kitchen and turned on the tap. Chanyeol did as told and made himself comfortable on the couch. 

The living room was well furnished, with a couch facing the kitchen, a loveseat pressed against the wall, a coffee table in the centre of the room and a TV. The couches matched the light gray color of the walls.

“Why does your dorm look so good?” Chanyeol asked out of curiosity. His dorm had old furniture and peeling wallpaper. Compared to Baekhyun’s place, Chanyeol’s looked like a dirty motel room.

“Jongin’s dad pays for it. He’s the CEO of some company.” Baekhyun replied, coming back with a glass in his hand.

Chanyeol took the glass gratefully. “That’s really cool.”

Baekhyun nodded. “Having a rich roommate does have its advantages.” He sat next to the taller male on the couch, leaving a foot or so between them.

“So, what do you want to do?” Chanyeol asked, setting the water onto the coffee table. “We have a few hours right?”

“I have a Playstation. We could play games?” Baekhyun suggested.

“What kind of games do you have?” Chanyeol asked. 

“I’m not sure, let me check.” Baekhyun got up and headed to the TV, pulling out a pile of games from behind the device and sorting through them. “I have every Call of Duty game, Mario Kart, Pictionary, Race Cars, Hockey, Soccer and Trivia.”

Chanyeol whistled. “That’s a lot of games.”

“Like I said, having a rich roommate has advantages.” Baekhyun smirked and Chanyeol laughed loud. “So, which one do you want to play?”

“Let’s play Mario.” Chanyeol suggested. Baekhyun nodded and popped the game out of the case. He inserted it into the Playstation and grabbed the controllers. 

“I’ll be player one.” Baekhyun said, starting the game. “I choose Mario.”

Chanyeol pouted. “I was going to choose Mario.”

“Sucks for you.” Baekhyun teased.

\----

“That’s not fair!” Chanyeol whined. He tossed his controller onto the couch with a pout as the words LOSER flashed on his side of the screen. “You can’t cheat like that!”

“Like what?” Baekhyun laughed, placing his controller down too. “I didn’t even do anything.”

Chanyeol frowned. “You obviously cheated.”

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows and sat up straighter. “Did I really? How so?”

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol responded and leaned closer to Baekhyun, trying to come off as intimidating. He used his height to his advantage and loomed over the smaller. “But it’s clear as day. Just admit it, you’re a cheater!”

“I am not!” Baekhyun then lunged forwards and knocked Chanyeol backwards lightly. The taller stumbled and fell off the couch, landing on his butt.

“Oh, I’m going to get you back for that.” Chanyeol threatened before launching himself at the other. Baekhyun squealed and rolled away just in time to avoid the six-foot tall monstrosity trying to strangle him. 

Chanyeol straightened himself on the couch and looked down at Baekhyun, who looked absolutely pitiful on the floor. His hair was covering his eyes and his bottom lip was pushed into a small pout. “That wasn’t very nice.” He mocked.

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. “Neither are you.”

“You’re so childish!” Baekhyun feigned anger and crossed his arms. Chanyeol smiled and stood up.

“Says you.” He shot back and stepped towards the coffee table. “I’m going to get more water.”   
Chanyeol didn’t see the smirk that formed on Baekhyun’s face, and he didn’t feel the grip on his calf until it was too late.

Baekhyun pulled on his leg hard and without warning. Chanyeol screamed and staggered, falling backwards.

His landing wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. Chanyeol had ended up on his stomach somehow, but the floor didn’t knock the wind out of his lungs like he thought it would. He opened his eyes, which he hadn’t even realised he closed. Chanyeol sucked in a breath.

Underneath him was Baekhyun, whose eyes were squeezed shut. “That didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.” He mumbled.

Chanyeol chuckled lightly and pushed himself up onto his elbows so that Baekhyun’s head was caged between his arms. Their faces were so close and they were pressed up against each other on the floor. Chanyeol could feel Baekhyun’s breath on his face and blushed. Baekhyun looked up and they locked eyes for a moment and Baekhyun smiled slightly. His eyes were warm brown and wrinkled from his smile. Chanyeol found himself staring. “You’re squishing me-”

“Hey, Baek, we’re home - what the hell!” 

Chanyeol’s head whipped to the side towards the front door. Jongin and Kyungsoo were standing in the front hall, each holding a bag of what looked - and smelled - like Chinese food. Kyungsoo was beat red and Jongin barked out a laugh.

“Really? In the livingroom?” Jongin said between giggles. “You have a bedroom for a reason.”

Chanyeol looked back at Baekhyun in a panic. “Get off me,” The smaller replied, smacking his shoulder repeatedly. Chanyeol did as told quickly, fumbling to sit upright.

When the two were both sitting on the floor a foot away from each other, Kyungsoo shook his head and sighed. “I will never be able to unsee that.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Baekhyun defended.

Chanyeol nodded in agreement. “We were playing Mario Kart but Baek cheated, so we started to wrestle but you guys walked in.”

“Ah, are you guys are on a nickname basis now?” Jongin inquired sarcastically. “How cute.”  
Chanyeol blushed and looked away, while Baekhyun groaned in absolute mortification.

\----

Baekhyun smiled in greeting and sat in his usual seat next to Chanyeol in history. Chanyeol grinned back and waited until Baekhyun was situated before asking, “When are you free to work on our project?” 

Baekhyun turned to look at him, frowning, “What project?”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked, sounding incredulous. “It’s our final summative?” At Baekhyun’s blank expression, he sighed. “You know, the project about the Roman Gods and Goddesses? We’re partners.”

“Oh, right.” Baekhyun said.

“Don’t even try to pretend you know what’s going on.” Chanyeol laughed. “I’ll explain it later.”  
Baekhyun huffed. “Fine.”

\----

“That’s an awful project.” Baekhyun complained. “Who came up with this?”

“Our professor.” Chanyeol replied matter-of-factly. “Now, when should we go?”

Baekhyun pouted. “I don’t want to go to the museum. It’s so boring and uneventful and old.” He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

“Of course it’s old, Baek. It’s a museum.” Chanyeol chuckled and stood. “Don’t forget your laptop.”

“Oh, right.” Baekhyun grabbed the item from off his desk and put it back in his bag. “Thanks.”

Chanyeol smiled and started walking. “We need to go if we don’t want to fail.”

“Let me fail.” Baekhyun groaned. “It’s better than wasting my afternoon surrounded by old statues and paintings.”

“So you’d rather waste an entire semester than one afternoon?” Chanyeol questioned. “Because that’s what’ll happen if you fail.”

Baekhyun frowned. “Let me fail.” He repeated, his voice was resigned, but Chanyeol knew he won. The look in his eyes said so.

“Meet me at the museum tomorrow at ten am sharp.” He informed the shorter before walking away, leaving no time for the other to argue.

\----

Chanyeol waited for Baekhyun in front of the museum at ten in the morning. He had dressed warmly, since the mid-November wind was colder than he thought it would be. He thought it would be fine but Baekhyun had kept him waiting, not arriving until twenty minutes past ten.

“This is why you don’t ask me to wake up early.” Baekhyun grumbled and pushed the door open. 

He walked inside the museum and scrunched his nose. “It smells like old.”

Chanyeol laughed. “What does old smell like?”

“Like you. Old and dusty.”

“That’s not nice.” Chanyeol chastised and pulled out the tickets that he’d printed out the night before from his pocket. He showed the paper to the man at the desk, who scanned them and let them through. “Lighten up, the project could be worse.”

Baekhyun simply sighed and followed Chanyeol into the museum.

\----

“We’ve seen like, thirty different exhibits. Why are we still here?” Baekhyun whined. “I’m still freaking tired.”

“Suck it up, Baek,” Chanyeol teased. “We would’ve been done earlier if you helped out.”

Baekhyun sighed. “I didn’t sleep last night. I was too busy studying for a medical exam.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m so wound up.”

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun’s face, noticing for the first time how exhausted he looked. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin appeared to be paler than usual. Without thinking,   
Chanyeol raised his hand to Baekhyun’s cheek and gently rubbed his thumb under the other’s eye. “Don’t stress.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened at the touch, his cheeks beginning to turn red when he met Chanyeol’s eyes. “Um…”

At Baekhyun’s expression, Chanyeol felt his face grow warm, and he pulled his hand back quickly, coughing to hide his embarrassment. “Maybe we should go check out the next exhibit?” He forced   
out.

“Y-yeah.”

Chanyeol led Baekhyun towards the next exhibit, keeping his head down and his eyes averted from the other’s.

“Hey, Yeol,” Baekhyun caught the God’s arm. “What about this one?” He said, pointing to the display they had just passed. There weren’t very many people and the display was small. 

Chanyeol walked over, looking at all the pictures and words written on the poster that hung above a small statue.

The statue was of the Roman God of Water, Neptune. Beside it there was an iPad hooked to the table. On the screen there was a list of information about the Roman Gods as well as old stories.

“Nice find, Baek.” Chanyeol praised with a smile. Baekhyun let go of his arm then and moved to check one of the other posters. 

“There’s a lot of information here.” Baekhyun noted. He took out his phone and started taking pictures of the exhibit. Chanyeol picked up the tablet and began to read.

“You know,” Baekhyun said after he put away his phone. “I don’t really like Gods.”

Chanyeol swore he stopped breathing. “What?” He asked. Maybe he just heard wrong. He turned to look at Baekhyun, who was studying a statue with thinly veiled disgust.

“I’ve always hated Gods. I just think that it’s really selfish of them to fall in love with mortals if they’re only going to move on when their loved ones die.” Baekhyun stated. Chanyeol felt the blood leave his face.

“Don’t you think that it’s sad?” Chanyeol forced his voice to sound sturdy. “They have to live forever while the rest of the world moves on around them. They don’t get a choice.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “I don’t think so. They have the choice to confess their feelings and they have the choice to seduce a mortal. Don’t you think it’s selfish to make someone love you if you’re just going to find someone else later?”

Chanyeol swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I guess.”

“I think we have everything we need.” Baekhyun turned to the God and smiled. “We should go back now.”

“Alright.”

The entire way back to his dorm, Chanyeol couldn’t help but think about what Baekhyun had said. 

Would Baekhyun still want to be friends if he knew about Chanyeol? Would he still like him for who he was?

Questions ran through Chanyeol’s mind even after the two parted ways.

\----

The first thing Joonmyeon noticed after his date with Yixing was the lack of light throughout the apartment. Since Chanyeol hated the dark, he always had every light on in the house. The second thing he noticed was the lack of Chanyeol himself. The God usually waited for them on the couch so he could tell them about his day and ask about about theirs. The last thing he noticed was the sound of sniffles coming from down the hall.

That was when he knew something was wrong.

“Something’s not right.” Joonmyeon told Yixing with a frown. Yixing looked around the room.

“Where’s Chanyeol?” He asked.

“That’s the problem.” Joonmyeon said and headed towards Chanyeol’s room. He opened the door and walked inside. To his relief, Joonmyeon saw Chanyeol sitting crossed-legged on the floor with his head down. He was surrounded by his blanket and was wearing a baggy black hoodie. 

“Hey,” Joonmyeon said and stepped inside the room. “Are you okay?”

Chanyeol raised his head and looked at Joonmyeon’s concerned face. “Not really.”

Yixing raised his eyebrows and Joonmyeon knelt down beside Chanyeol. “What happened?”

“I don’t even know.” Chanyeol said softly, dropping his head again. 

Yixing sat down and placed a hand on the God’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Chanyeol blew out a breath and closed his eyes. “Baekhyun hates Gods.”

Joonmyeon cast Yixing a questioning look. “What do you mean?” Joonmyeon asked. “How do you know?”

“He told me.” Chanyeol said in a sad voice. “At the museum when we were looking at a roman mythology exhibit he said that Gods are selfish and he can’t stand them.”

“He probably doesn’t mean that.” Yixing comforted. 

“How do you know?” Chanyeol snapped. “What if he doesn’t like me for me? What if he refuses to speak to me again? What if he’s disgusted by me? I never knew I could like someone as much as I like Baekhyun and I honestly don’t know what I’d do if he hated me.”

Yixing fell silent, rendered speechless by the other’s insecurities.

Joonmyeon eyed his boyfriend, confused by his silence, but returned to the situation at hand. “I understand where you’re coming from but you don’t know what Baekhyun will think. He seems to be really comfortable with you now.”

Chanyeol looked at Joonmyeon and whimpered. “But what if he does end up hating me?”

“Well, that’s just a risk you’ll have to take.”

 

Later, after Chanyeol had gone to bed, Yixing and Joonmyeon sat in the living room. Joonmyeon was on the couch, reclined and comfortable, and Yixing was lying down on top of him, his head pillowed on Joonmyeon’s chest. He liked the affection but Joonmyeon concerned about Yixing.   
The younger male hadn’t spoken much since their conversation with Chanyeol and it was disconcerting. He was also being clingier than usual.

Then, Yixing draped his arm over Joonmyeon’s torso and sighed. 

Joonmyeon worried his bottom lip. “Yixing, baby, are you okay?”

“Hm?” Yixing looked up and the two locked eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He answered distractedly.

The older frowned. “Are you sure? You seem a little out of it.”

Yixing averted his gaze. “You know that I love you, right?”

Joonmyeon appeared taken aback by Yixing’s question. “Of course. Why would you think I didn’t?” 

Yixing ignored his question. “You know that you’re an amazing boyfriend and I will never stop loving you, right?”

Joonmyeon nodded. “What’s going on with you? Why are you acting like this?”

“It’s just…” Yixing paused, a blush spreading over his pale cheeks. “Chanyeol and Baekhyun are making me think. Chanyeol is always so affectionate and caring. He always gushes over 

Baekhyun and talks about how much he likes him. He even came to Earth to find him. It made me think, maybe I don’t tell you I love you enough.”

Yixing raised his head and met Joonmyeon’s eyes, more than a little embarrassed. 

Joonmyeon shifted, leaning in close. He pressed his lips to Yixing’s for a moment, very softly.   
“You’re being ridiculous. You don’t need to tell me every day. You show me and that’s more than enough.”


	4. Chapter Four (Final Chapter)

**Four**

“What should I do?” Chanyeol asked, staring into the flame in his palm. Yifan's image was flickering and distorted. Chanyeol thought it was probably because he was upset. He never had good control when his emotions took over.

Yifan hummed. “I think Joonmyeon was right. You have to take the risk and tell Baekhyun about yourself.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Chanyeol objected. “What if he doesn’t think I’m good enough?”

“It’ll be a lot worse if you don’t tell him anything and wait for him to find out on his own.” Yifan pointed out. “Then he’d be furious. This isn’t something you can hide Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know you’re right but I’m scared. This could really mess things up.” He sat up on his bed and stared at Yifan's s face. It brought a sense of comfort, a sense of familiarity.

“You have to try.” 

“I know.”

Baekhyun pushed open Chanyeol’s bedroom door, filled with excitement. The marks for their project had been posted and he wanted nothing more than to celebrate. They got a near perfect score, after all. Joonmyeon had opened the door for him and Baekhyun barreled inside without waiting to be invited in. He couldn’t contain his pride or excitement.

Baekhyun stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he looked into the room. Chanyeol was sitting on his bed, staring at a small fire in his hand. He was talking and someone… answered?

Startled, Baekhyun let his bag slip off his shoulder. At the loud thump the bag caused, Chanyeol noticed his presence. The fire suddenly became bright before it vanished. The tall male turned his head toward the door. “B-Baek?”

“What the actual hell?” Baekhyun shrieked. “What was that?”

Chanyeol stood up. “Baekhyun, I can explain, I promise.”

“Well, you better start!”

The tall male took a step closer to where he stood, very hesitantly. “I have something to tell you,”   
He said in a shaky voice. “I know that it’ll sound crazy but you have to believe me.”

Baekhyun stared with wide eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

The other stared down at his hands and averted his gaze. “I… I um… I’m a God.” Chanyeol blurted.

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. “What?” He asked incredulously.

“I am Park Chanyeol, Minor God of Fire.” Chanyeol said, very seriously.

“And I’m Byun Baekhyun, Major God of Light,” Baekhyun replied sarcastically. “Now tell me what’s going on. You were talking to someone using _fire_.”

At that second, Chanyeol raised his hand again. A small flame appeared out of nowhere, casting the dark room in an orange light. He lifted his arms and the fire expanded, growing in size and shape until it formed a large sphere in the centre of the room.

Baekhyun stared in shock. “What the actual fuck?” He cursed.

“I told you already. I’m a Fire God.” Chanyeol said. He waved his hand and the fire dissipated. “I know that this is strange and you’re probably in shock but I need you to believe me.”

Baekhyun felt fear and anger clawing at his heart, forming a lump in his throat and a pit in his   
stomach. “You’re a God.” Baekhyun stated, as if trying to sort out his thoughts. “You’re a God and you can do voodoo shit. I’ve been hanging around a freaking God for the past four months.”

Chanyeol moved closer, reaching out to grab Baekhyun’s arm but the latter flinched back, as if his touch burned. “Do not touch me.”

“Baek-”

“You lied to me. I trusted you and you lied to me.” Baekhyun yelled, throwing his arms up. 

Chanyeol whimpered and dropped his head. “Has anything you’ve ever told me been true?”

“Yes, Baek, I prom-”

“Don’t call me that.” Baekhyun said, shaking his head frantically. “You don’t deserve it. You’re a liar and a freak.”

Chanyeol didn’t say anything. He looked smaller like that, like a child instead of a powerful God. “I promise you, Baekhyun, you can trust me.”

Baekhyun threw his arms up. “How? You lied to me about everything! You aren’t even human, for crying out loud!”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how you would react.” Chanyeol reasoned, still sounding defeated. “I didn’t want to ruin things.”

“And look where we are now!” Baekhyun shouted. He felt his face heat up as anger flowed through his veins. “You told me that it was never good to start off a friendship on a lie. Chanyeol, you’re the most deceitful, selfish person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

Baekhyun grabbed his bag from off the floor and left, feeling angry, hurt and betrayed. He hated Gods and Chanyeol was no exception. He was no better than the Gods in old Greek mythology. He was taking advantage of Baekhyun and everyone else around him. 

“I hope I never see you again.” Baekhyun stormed out, without saying goodbye to Joonmyeon or Yixing and making sure to slam the door on the way out.

\----

Chanyeol refused to go to class the next day. He knew that it wasn’t a smart decision to miss class since exams were coming up, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave his room. Instead, he threw on a sweater and a pair of oversized jogging pants and stayed in bed. 

Yixing and Joonmyeon, who had heard the argument the previous night, had both tried to convince him that he could fix the situation and he had to get to class but Chanyeol had ignored them and buried himself deeper into the blankets. He felt upset, frustrated and so, so sad.   
Baekhyun had said the one thing he couldn’t stand hearing; _you don’t deserve it._

For his entire life, Chanyeol had been insecure about his status. He was a minor God, not well known amongst mortals and less powerful than other Gods. Despite his title, Chanyeol had all of the qualities of a major God. He was tall, he had broad shoulders and a bigger build. Everything about him screamed power but fate wasn’t on his side.

Because of his abnormal appearance, Chanyeol always felt he wasn’t good enough- especially when he was with Yifan. He loved the man like a brother but he couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t deserve to be so close to such a powerful God. Other Gods would ridicule him and try to dominate him but Yifan would step in and protect him. Chanyeol couldn’t even protect himself.

He thought that he got over that insecurity when he turned twenty.

Now he knew that it was true - he didn’t deserve Baekhyun, or Yifan, or anyone.

\----

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows at Baekhyun’s disheveled appearance. The older boy’s hair was tangled, he had dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was pale. “Did you sleep at all last night?”   
He asked. Baekhyun shook his head as he packed his bag for class. “Why not?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Any reason why?” Kyungsoo persisted. It wasn’t like Baekhyun to be so down in the dumps.

“Not at all.” Baekhyun said, finality in his voice, as he shoved a textbook in his bag with more force than necessary. Kyungsoo knew that the discussion was over.

When Baekhyun left he slammed the door behind him. Normally Kyungsoo would reprimand him but he refrained. Something clearly wasn’t right.

“What’s up his ass?” Jongin asked from where he was sitting at the kitchen table.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “If you heard the conversation then why are you asking me?”

“I don’t know.” Jongin said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

“You’re an idiot.” Kyungsoo chuckled and kissed his boyfriend briefly.

“I’m your idiot.” Jongin shouted as he hurried out of the door.

Kyungsoo didn’t have a class that day. It was always lonely by himself so he usually met up with Sehun or Minseok but he felt uneasy. Baekhyun wasn’t himself and Kyungsoo was almost certain it had something to do with the person Baekhyun had been seeing.

\----

Baekhyun didn’t know if he was relieved or angry that Chanyeol wasn’t in class. On one hand, he wouldn’t have to purposefully avoid the man; on the other hand, why the hell would Chanyeol not show up to class? Baekhyun was lied to, betrayed, and hurt but he was still attending.

To his annoyance, Baekhyun found he couldn’t pay attention to the professor. His mind was preoccupied and would wander to a certain tall, red-headed giant. When the class was dismissed,   
Baekhyun sighed, realizing he hadn’t been paying attention, and asked one of his classmates to borrow their notes. They agreed, as long as he got it back by the next class. Baekhyun took the notes gratefully and resigned his night to studying. 

This carried on for a week. Baekhyun hated to admit it but every time he walked into class and didn’t see Chanyeol’s mop of bright red hair, he felt a lump form in his throat. Baekhyun didn’t even know if the feeling was anger, sadness, betrayal or… something else entirely. 

He ignored the feeling during the day but at night when he was alone, it was all Baekhyun could think about.

\----

A soft knock sounded inside of the small, dark room.

“Can I come in?” A familiar voice said from outside Chanyeol’s door. The God sat up in his bed, slightly confused. No one ever knocked, and although the voice was familiar, it didn’t belong to anyone who lived in the apartment. 

“Come in.” Chanyeol responded, sounding uncertain. The door opened slowly and someone poked their head inside. “Lu Han?”

The said man entered the room fully, his expression slightly worried. He flicked the light switch on and smiled softly. “Hello, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol looked up at Lu Han, slightly embarrassed at his current state. He had been wearing the same clothes for days, he hadn’t showered and Chanyeol was certain he looked like shit. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Joonmyeon called me.” Lu Han answered and moved towards his bed. “He told me what happened between you and Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol tried to force out a laugh but found he couldn’t. “Is there anything Joonmyeon doesn’t tell you?”

“Of course not. He’s my best friend.” Lu Han reminded. “Anyways, can you tell me what happened from your perspective?”

Chanyeol creased his eyebrows. “Didn’t you just say that Joonmyeon explained?”

Lu Han shook his head. “Joonmyeon informed, he didn’t explain. That’s your job.”

Chanyeol explained his situation again, retelling the entire story from beginning to end. Lu Han was very attentive, listening to every word the God said without comment. and offering a sympathetic expression when Chanyeol blinked away his tears and cleared his throat after he finished talking.

It felt good to tell the story to someone who wasn’t biased and would be honest with Chanyeol. Lu Han stared at him for a moment, thinking. He had moved to sit down on Chanyeol’s bed sometime during the God’s explanation and was resting his chin in his hands. His eyes were glazed over and he was staring off into space.

Chanyeol didn’t know how long they sat there in silence like that, but he was beginning to become uncomfortable. “Um.”

Lu Han’s eyes came back into focus and he looked at Chanyeol apologetically. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“About what?” Chanyeol asked.

Lu Han seemed to hesitate, glancing away briefly before returning his gaze. His eyes serious. “I think I have an idea but I don’t think Yifan will like it very much.” Lu Han finally admitted.

Chanyeol was confused. “What do you mean? What’s your idea?” He questioned. 

Lu Han shook his head. “It’s nothing, sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it..”

“Why not?”

“I already told you,” Lu Han sighed. “I know that Yifan wouldn’t approve.”

“Who cares what Yifan says?” Chanyeol almost shouted. “If you know of a way I can fix this, tell me so I can decide. I have to make this better.” He sat up straight and his blanket fell from his shoulders and landed in a heap on his bed. He locked eyes with Lu Han and didn’t back down. If there was anything that could be done to save his relationship with Baekhyun, or even his friendship, he would gladly do whatever Lu Han told him to do.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lu Han sighed. His shoulders slouched and he rolled his eyes. “I’ll tell you but I’m not getting in trouble if Yifan finds out.” He said in a stern voice.

Chanyeol smiled and let himself relax. “Thank you Lu Han.”

Lu Han flashed a tense smile in return. “Have you ever heard of Pyro Amalgamation?” He asked, and Chanyeol shook his head. Lu Han continued, “Well, Pyro Amalgamation is the act of taking the internal flame of any Pyrokinetic and transferring it to the body of another immortal being. By removing the internal flame, one is essentially removing the essence of a fire-type, leaving nothing behind but a body and a soul. The removed energy is then absorbed by the other pyrokinetic, leaving the original God perishable.”

Chanyeol stared at Lu Han with wide eyes. “You mean…?”

“If you did this spell, you would be left a mortal.” Lu Han concluded. Chanyeol could feel his heart beginning to beat faster in his chest; if Baekhyun hated Gods so much, Chanyeol could turn himself mortal. It would solve all of his problems.

“How do you do this spell? We can do it right now!” Chanyeol exclaimed excitedly.

“Slow down. That’s not how it works.” Lu Han informed. “This is where the hard part comes in.   
There are certain… requirements that have to be met.”

“Requirements?” Chanyeol asked. He felt himself slouch as the positive energy slowly drained from his body.

Lu Han nodded. “The person who is absorbing the energy has to be a Major God since they are the only Gods physically capable of performing the task. The two have to be close in age; it is to ensure that the amount power being transferred doesn’t overwhelm the receiver. Both participants also have to be pyrokinetic for the spell to work. Lastly, they must have a stable relationship to make sure the power is stable and doesn’t react poorly inside its new host.”

Chanyeol blew out a breath. “That’s a lot of requirements.”

“Sadly, if they are not all met, the spell won’t work.” Lu Han said. “Which is why I brought it up.”

Chanyeol frowned. “I don’t understand…”

Lu Han leaned forward so their faces were close and whispered, “You and Yifan match the description perfectly.”

Chanyeol felt his eyes widen and he sucked in a breath. It was true; they matched in every way. But, “Yifan would never allow it.”

“Bingo,” Lu Han said and moved back to his original position. “He’s very protective over you. He loves you like a brother and wouldn’t want you to sacrifice yourself for a mortal.”

“But he’s not just any mortal,” Chanyeol defended. “Baekhyun is the reason why I came down to Earth in the first place. He’s helped me with pre-exam stress and studying and he treated my head when I bashed it against a table. Baekhyun is amazing and I would do anything to keep him by my side, even if we can only be friends.”

Lu Han raised his hands. “I’m not saying anything bad about Baekhyun, I believe you. I’m just saying that Yifan wouldn’t approve.”

Chanyeol sighed. “I know that but I still have to try.”

“Call him. Use your fire-phone and convince him.” Lu Han said, trying to lessen the tension and lighten the mood. Chanyeol chuckled and took a calming breath. 

“I’ll ask him.”

\----

“ _Absolutely not._ ” Yifan said matter-of-factly. His voice was calm but his eyes were filled with anger. 

Chanyeol rubbed his face in an agitated manner. “I already told you, this isn’t for you to decide!”

“ _It is if I’m supposed to be involved._ ” He shot back. Yifan’s image in the fire was blurred from Chanyeol’s lack of concentration. He was too frustrated to keep his powers calm and under control. “Yifan, I don’t think you understand. I have found someone important. I have found someone who is kind and smart and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. If I can fix this situation, let me.”

Yifan shook his head vigorously. His own emotions were starting to surface and his breathing became quicker. “ _You don’t understand, Chanyeol. Baekhyun is a mortal. There are plenty more where he came from. Is he really worth throwing your life away? You do realize that is what you’re essentially doing, right? Mortals die. Is it he really worth it?_ ”

“Of course he is!” Chanyeol yelled. He was so fed up with the entire situation. If only he hadn’t lied to Baekhyun in the first place, or had told him earlier. “He is worth so much.”

Yifan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.“ _Chanyeol-_ ”

“You would do the same for Zitao.” Chanyeol interrupted, quieter this time. “If our positions were reversed, you would do the exact same thing. Don’t even tell me otherwise.”

There was a silence, the only sound being the fire’s crackling. Then Yifan ran a hand through his hair. “Fine. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Chanyeol released a breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding and smiled. “Thank you, Yifan.”

\----

Joonmyeon pressed his ear against the shut door, trying to discern the conversation, to no avail.  
“Can you hear anything?” Yixing asked from beside him, in the same position. “I can’t catch much.”

“The only thing I can hear is your voice, which isn’t the one I want to be hearing right now.” 

Joonmyeon hissed. Yixing held his hand up in surrender, putting a finger to his lips in the universal sign for quiet. The older shook his head and sighed. Lu Han bit back a laugh at his friends’ relationship.

“You guys should move before they catch you.” He said matter-of-factly.

Yixing shook his head and Joonmyeon frowned. “I refuse.” 

“I thought you said you didn’t want to hear our voices.” Yixing snickered, his voice no louder than a harsh whisper but still seemed to sound obnoxious nonetheless.

Joonmyeon shook his head. “I said I didn’t want to hear _your_ voice.”

Suddenly, the door swung open and both men, who had been leaning against the piece of wood, lost their balance and fell forward. Joonmyeon landed on the wood floor, Yixing on top of him, forcing all the air out of his lungs. While they were arguing, they didn’t notice the sound of footsteps coming closer from the other side of the door. 

Joonmyeon looked up, craning his neck as high as possible. Above him, Yifan stood with his hands on his hips, one eyebrow raised. Chanyeol stood behind him, looking more than a little confused. 

Yixing sat up then and smiled embarrassedly. “Um… We were cleaning the door… with our faces.” He giggled.

Behind them, Lu Han was stifling a laugh with his hand pressed against his mouth. Joonmyeon sighed and dropped his head onto the floor with a loud thump. “I’m in love with an idiot.” He mumbles to himself over the sound of laughter that seemed to be contagious because after a second, he was laughing too.

\----

Lu Han wasted no time explaining Pyro Amalgamation to Yifan. He went through each step thoroughly the minute the two had exited Chanyeol’s room. They were now seated in the living room, Yifan and Chanyeol on the couch across from Lu Han. The mortal was talking animatedly as if he had memorized a passage in a text.

Joonmyeon and Yixing had retreated to their room to give the three privacy and Chanyeol was grateful; despite being close with both of them after living together for months, he needed to think things over with Yifan alone. He was sure Yifan was grateful as well.

“Yifan, it’s your call.” Lu Han concluded his speech and sat back in his chair, waiting for an answer. Chanyeol was looking up at Yifan hopefully but the other wore a blank expression. “What do you think?” He asked quietly.

“Lu Han, can Chanyeol and I speak in private?” Yifan asked.

Lu Han nodded and got up from his spot. He smiled to himself and exited the small apartment quickly, making sure to close the door half-way. He quickly took the stairs down to the first floor and exited the building, a plan brewing in his mind.

\----

“E-excuse me?”

Baekhyun stopped walking and turned around when he heard the small voice behind him. To his surprise, he saw a man in front of him, dressed in a thin jacket and jeans. His delicate-looking face was red from the cold and his hair was a little bit messy. “Can I help you?” He asked politely.

The man looked away shyly. “I just transferred here for the new semester. I’m supposed to move into my new dorm soon but I can’t find it.” He answered. “Can you help me look for it?”

Baekhyun smiled. “No problem.” He held out his hand for Lu Han to shake. “I’m Baekhyun, by the way.”

The other smiled back. “I’m Lu Han.”

“Do you know which dorm you’re staying in?” He asked Lu Han. 

“Um… 492 I think.”

Baekhyun felt his stomach drop. Chanyeol lived in 490. That meant that there was a possibility that they could run into each other and Baekhyun didn’t want that. He considered saying no and leaving but he had already agreed to help Lu Han and it would be unfair to suddenly change his mind. “I... know where that is. I can take you there if you want?”

“Really?” Lu Han looked relieved and he beamed. “ That would be great. Thank you so much!”

“It’s not a big deal. It’s over this way.” Baekhyun said and started walking- more tense than before- Lu Han following behind him happily.

In the short walk, Baekhyun learned that Lu Han was from China. His parents had moved for work and he decided to go with them. “I thought it would be a good learning opportunity.” He informed as they walked up the stairs.

Baekhyun listened as they took the stairs to the fourth floor, slightly distracted. He prayed that he wouldn’t see Chanyeol since he was still upset about the fact that he lied to him about who he was. In all honesty, it wasn’t even the fact that Chanyeol was a God that made Baekhyun angry; it was that Chanyeol lied to him for months instead of being honest. He was no better than the Gods in mythology, and it was infuriating.

“Baekhyun?” Lu Han snapped him out of his thoughts. Baekhyun shook his head to clear his mind. 

“Sorry, I’ve been a little distracted lately.” He admitted. Lu Han looked as if he were about to ask why so Baekhyun hurried to change the subject. “What are you studying?”

“Mechanics.” Lu Han answered just as the two exited the stairwell. “My dad is an engineer and insisted.”

Baekhyun smiled. “Mechanics sounds fun.”

Lu Han nodded. “It’s a lot of fun but it’s really hard. I understand the actual, physical part but the written work always confuses me.”

“I hate written work.” Baekhyun agreed. “It definitely sucks.” He stopped in front of the door marked 492. “This is yours.” He informed.

Lu Han smiled and bowed. “Thank you for helping me-” 

“But Yifan, you don’t understand!” A voice, one Baekhyun knew all too well, came from the room to his left. “I’ve always been like this.”

Lu Han looked up at Baekhyun with wide eyes. “What’s going on?” He asked in an innocent tone.

“I’m not sure.” Baekhyun responded. He knew that Chanyeol was speaking but he’d never heard him sound so angry. He would hate to have that tone directed at him.

“Should we check it out?” Lu Han quipped.

“I-I don’t think so-”

“Come on, let’s just see.” 

Before Baekhyun could disagree, Lu Han grabbed his arm and pulled him towards Chanyeol’s dorm. Baekhyun sucked in a breath as Lu Han took his spot behind the door. He wanted to leave, chastise the other for listening in on someone else’s conversation but Baekhyun found he couldn’t.

Instead, he stood beside Lu Han and listened.

“In Olympus, I’ve always felt like I wasn’t enough,” Chanyeol’s voice was quieter now, more embarrassed and sad. It made Baekhyun’s heart ache a little. Just a little “I’m a Minor God but look at me; I look like I should be on top. No one wants someone like that. I didn’t think that I deserved anyone.”

“Chanyeol, that’s not true-” An unfamiliar voice reasoned. 

“But with Baekhyun, I never felt like that. Baekhyun always made me feel like I was worth something. He laughed at my jokes, no matter how bad they were. He talked to me and actually listened. He helped me study when I needed it. He treated me like an equal, and I never felt inferior to him.” Baekhyun sucked in a breath and he could feel his heartbeat quicken. “With him, I feel happy. I have the chance to turn mortal and if it gives me the chance to make up with him, to make _him_ happy, I’ll do it.”

Baekhyun felt as if a weight had been added to his shoulders. He didn’t know that Chanyeol felt this way about him. He knew that there was something between them but Baekhyun assumed that he would be like the Gods he read about - after Baekhyun rejected him, he would move on.

Baekhyun didn’t know why or what compelled him to do what he did but in his shocked state, he pushed open the door and stepped inside the apartment. Standing in the centre of the room was Chanyeol and another man. They were both too engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice that Baekhyun had entered the room.

“Is it true?” He forced himself to speak, his voice came out hesitant, uncertain. _Unbelieving._

Chanyeol turned to him, surprised. “Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun stepped closer. “Is it true?” He asked again. “Do you really feel like that? Would you really turn yourself human for me?”

“Of course! Baekhyun, I can’t even begin to explain how I feel about you!” Chanyeol sounded desperate. His expression resembled a mix of frustration and sadness. “I know that I was awful and I should have told you the truth sooner but I was scared about how you would react. If I could go back in time and change what I did, I would. Now I have the chance to make things better.”

Baekhyun felt a lump form in his throat. Chanyeol sounded sincere but- “But you lied to me. How can I trust you now?” He said softly. 

Chanyeol averted his gaze to the floor, ashamed. “I was being so stupid. I didn’t think about how you would feel and I’m so, so sorry. I promise, I’ll make it up to you, if you’ll let me.”

Baekhyun stared with wide eyes. To his surprise, he found himself wanting to forgive Chanyeol. He felt relief and confusion and so many other emotions bubble up and he didn’t know what to do, because the most noticeable thing Baekhyun felt in that moment was affection for the man. “I don’t want you to regret it, Chanyeol.” He reasoned. “You’re a God. It’s who you are. I don’t want you to give it up because of me.”

Chanyeol smiled softly. “Baekhyun, I’m still me, whether I’m a human or a God. I’ll always be Chanyeol.”

“Right, you’ll always be Chanyeol.” Baekhyun repeated, liked he was trying to convince himself. 

Chanyeol, as if he was reading Baekhyun’s mind, said with determination. “I’m certain this is what   
I want to do.” Chanyeol turned to the other man, who, up until that point, had stood dumbfounded. “Yifan, will you do it?”

The man, Yifan, ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “You really want to do this, don’t you?” 

Chanyeol nodded hastily. He rolled his eyes. “Fine, if you’re sure.”

\----

They started the Pyro Amalgamation shortly after. Lu Han walked the two through the entire process (after explaining the confusing situation to Baekhyun, who still thought he was a student). Lu Han instructed Chanyeol to sit with his eyes closed. He explained that it was easier and more comfortable if he didn’t see what Yifan was doing. Apparently, the spell is dangerous mentally; it could cause shock and even PTSD in rare cases.

Chanyeol sat on the couch with his eyes closed anxiously and listened as Yifan repeated the words Lu Han told him to in an expressionless voice.

Minutes passed as Yifan continued to speak and Chanyeol was beginning to feel nervous. What if it didn’t work? There were so many standards that have to be met, so many steps that had to be followed. It wasn’t unlikely that the spell wasn’t working.

Chanyeol was about to voice his opinion when his nerves became almost overpowering. However, he felt something tug in his chest. It felt like something inside of him was trying to force its way out. Chanyeol gasped and resisted the urge to open his eyes.

“Focus, Chanyeol.” He heard Lu Han reprimand but his voice sounded far away. “You can’t let yourself get distracted.”

 _Easier said than done_ , Chanyeol wanted to say. It was uncomfortable, the way his chest was tight and he could feel his fire shifting inside of him. It was almost painful. Chanyeol could hear Yifan grunting and his own breathing quickened. 

“You’re going to have to reach inside his chest and extract it.” He heard Lu Han explain.

Chanyeol knew about this step, of course, but knowledge did nothing to calm him. He sucked in a breath and waited. Chanyeol could _feel_ Yifan getting closer and soon the older male had the palm of his hand on his chest. Then, he _pushed_.

There was so much pressure pushing down on him at once and for the first time, it felt like his own fire was burning him from the inside. Chanyeol screamed and curled his fist into the fabric of his pants.

“Chanyeol! Are you okay?” Yifan asked in a panic.

Chanyeol clenched his teeth and forced himself to nod to give his friend the reassurance he was   
looking for. “I’m fine.”

“You have to stay focused. Keep pulling.” Lu Han chastised. Yifan seemed to hesitate but started again soon after. 

Chanyeol could feel his energy slowly begin to fade a few seconds later and soon he felt… empty.

For the first time in his entire life, Chanyeol wasn’t warm. He didn’t feel his flames or the tingling in his stomach. He didn’t feel the heat in his veins. He felt nothing and it was extraordinary. Chanyeol sat there, revelling his new self while trying to calm his pounding heart. There was a dull ache in his chest but nothing more. Chanyeol took a moment to calm his erratic breathing and his pounding heart.

“You can open your eyes now.” Lu Han said enthusiastically.

Chanyeol did as he was told and peeled his eyes open. Yifan was sitting beside him, looking at him worriedly. “How do you feel?” He asked.

“I feel…” Chanyeol paused and looked for the right word. “Hollow.”

Lu Han smiled. “That’s completely normal.”

“Your red hair is gone.” Yifan noted, sounding relieved.

Chanyeol reached up and pulled at a patch of hair. “It is?”

“It’s black now.” Lu Han agreed.

“Let’s show Baekhyun.” Yifan said. His voice was both excited and sad and it made Chanyeol’s heart throb. He moved to stand but Chanyeol closed the space between them and pulled Yifan into a tight embrace.

“Thank you so much.” He felt his eyes water and blinked away tears.

Chanyeol felt Yifan’s chest rumble when he chuckled. “Of course. You know I would do anything for you.” A few seconds passed, then Yifan pulled away. “You should get going. Baekhyun is still waiting for you.”

Chanyeol nodded and stood. During the process of the spell, Baekhyun had waited in Chanyeol’s bedroom, as per Lu Han’s instructions. Chanyeol took a deep breath and made his way down the hall to his room.

He put his hand on the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open. Inside, Baekhyun was pacing, a hand wound tightly in his hair. When he heard the door open, he looked over.

Chanyeol entered hesitantly, both excited and nervous about Baekhyun’s reaction. 

For a second, Baekhyun didn’t even react. He just stared at Chanyeol with wide eyes; he looked taken aback. Then he walked over to where Chanyeol was standing quickly.

“I heard you scream. Are you okay?” He asked in the same voice he used when Chanyeol hit his head. It was quiet and professional - his doctor voice.

“I’m fine.” Chanyeol assured. “I’m better than fine, actually.”

Baekhyun relaxed slightly, chuckling. “You did it.” He remarked, raising a hand to the other’s cheek. Chanyeol leaned into the touch. “You really did it.”

Chanyeol smiled bashfully. “I did.”

A comfortable silence passed and they stayed still, looking into each other’s eyes. In Baekhyun’s was admiration and compassion. Chanyeol’s held hope and love.

In that moment, Chanyeol was so overwhelmed by emotion. He was so caught up, admiring Baekhyun’s features, his voice, his expression. Chanyeol had no idea where he got the courage but he asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Baekhyun looked away briefly, a blush adorning his features. Then he nodded hesitantly.  
Chanyeol leaned down and pressed his lips against Baekhyun’s softly. 

He had been waiting for that moment for too long and it was even more amazing than what he’d thought it would be. Baekhyun’s lips were soft, gentle, and warm against his own. Chanyeol pulled away and he couldn’t help but feel like it ended too quickly. He looked at Baekhyun’s face and grinned happily.

Baekhyun was smirking up at him. “Is that the best you can do?” 

Before Chanyeol could answer, Baekhyun grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him down. He kissed Chanyeol harder this time, Baekhyun moved his mouth against the taller’s and when Chanyeol got over his initial shock, he kissed back, content. 

Despite their ups and downs, Baekhyun liked Chanyeol for him.

 

**Four Years Later…**

Chanyeol woke up to the feeling of soft lips pressing against his own. He sighed as the lips trailed down his neck, nipping softly at his ear. “Come on, Yeol, you have to wake up.” The soft voice he knew so well lilted.

Chanyeol groaned and shook his head. He heard Baekhyun scoff lightly. “It’s your birthday, remember?”

“Give me five more minutes.” He croaked. His voice was scratchy and even lower than usual.

“That’s what you said an hour ago,” Baekhyun laughed and swatted at his arm. “Now get up.”  
Chanyeol decided to give into his boyfriend’s demand, opening his eyes and sitting up slowly. The sunlight that was filtering through the window was bright and made him squint.

Baekhyun was sitting beside him, a wide smile on his face. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” Chanyeol hummed and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“You have to get up,” Baekhyun said and tugged on Chanyeol’s arm playfully. “Get some clothes on, we’re going to have breakfast. I have the whole day planned.”

Chanyeol smiled and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “I’m excited.” 

Baekhyun hummed. “You should be. Today is going to be awesome.” He hugged Chanyeol from behind quickly. “Come out to the kitchen as soon as you’re ready.”

Chanyeol padded out to the kitchen sporting faded blue jeans and his favourite black hoodie. He was beyond excited to celebrate his birthday with Baekhyun. Every year he seemed to make the day even better than the last. 

As promised, Baekhyun was waiting for him in the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter, typing quickly on his phone. “Hey,” Chanyeol greeted.

Baekhyun jumped and shoved his phone in his back pocket. “Oh, hey. You were quick.” He said tensely.

“I didn’t want to keep you waiting.” Chanyeol made his way to where his boyfriend was standing and wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s waist. “So what’s the plan?”

Baekhyun seemed to relax a little and looped his own arms around Chanyeol’s neck. “It’s a surprise, I can’t tell you.”

“Come on,” Chanyeol whined. “Give me a hint.” 

“I’m not telling you anything.” Baekhyun said decisively as he shook his head. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Chanyeol pouted, giving Baekhyun the saddest puppy-dog eyes he could muster. He knew his boyfriend could never say no to him when he used the puppy-dog eyes - they were his secret weapon. “Please tell me, Baekhyun. You know you want to.”

Baekhyun averted his gaze and sighed. Chanyeol knew that look. He was close to giving in. Baekhyun opened his mouth and - “No way. Now hurry up and put on your shoes or we’ll be late.” He instructed, sternly.

“Fine.” Chanyeol grumbled, making his way to the front hall to find his runners. “You’re heartless.”

\----

Chanyeol stared at the empty plate with a full stomach. Baekhyun had treated him to breakfast at Cora’s and Chanyeol honestly believed he gained at least five pounds. He ate pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, basically every breakfast food he could think of. Chanyeol thought he was going to burst.

Baekhyun ate less than him but still ate a decent amount of food. They were both done eating and Baekhyun paid for the food.

“I don’t even think I can walk right now.” Chanyeol complained as they left the restaurant and started on their way back home. 

Baekhyun laughed and grabbed Chanyeol’s hand. “Maybe you shouldn’t have eaten so much.” He teased and swung their hands back and forth, a habit that the younger had quickly grown used to.

“I know that but it was right in front of me.” Chanyeol whined, holding his stomach with his free hand. “How could I not eat it?”

“It’s called self control. Now let’s go, we’re going to be late.” Baekhyun sped up his pace, all but dragging his boyfriend with him.

“Where are we going now?” Chanyeol asked. “Or is that a surprise, too?”

Baekhyun smirked. That was all the answer he needed. “My lips are sealed.”

\----

“Hey, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun called loudly when he pushed open the door to _Capstone Music_. The store still looked the exact same as it did the first time he visited. Chanyeol smiled at the déja vu, recalling his second date with Baekhyun all those years ago. He remembered every detail of that day, from the awkward introductions to Baekhyun’s beautiful piano playing. Chanyeol smiled at the memory.

Kyungsoo greeted the two with a wave. “Happy birthday, Chanyeol! How’s it been?” He asked cheerily.

“Thank you.” Chanyeol smiled bashfully.

“We literally saw you last week.” Baekhyun pointed out. “But we’re good.” 

Kyungsoo came out from behind the counter and towards the couple. “So, what brings you here today?” He asked.

Baekhyun smiled happily. “Since it’s Chanyeol’s birthday, we’re buying a new guitar.”

Chanyeol whirled around to face his boyfriend, shocked. “Oh, my God, are you kidding? Please tell me you aren’t kidding!”

“Of course I’m not kidding,” Baekhyun said, as if the idea was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. “Why else would we be here?”

“To see me?” Kyungsoo suggested, sounding bitter.

Baekhyun chuckled. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kyungsoo waved him off. “What kind of guitar are you looking for, I can help you.”

\----

Chanyeol stared at the guitar in awe. It was beyond beautiful, with a shiny black exterior and the golden strings. The sound was even better. “Are you kidding me? We can’t afford this!”

“It’s your birthday, of course we can.” Baekhyun said. Because apparently, if it’s your birthday everything becomes affordable. He took the guitar out of Chanyeol’s hands and gave it to Kyungsoo, who, as promised, helped them pick it up. “We’ll take it.”

Chanyeol was still worried. “This is too much, Baek. I don’t want you to waste money on me.” He lowered his voice a little.

“It’s not a waste. You want it and I’m sure you’ll get your money’s worth out of it.” Baekhyun pointed out. “Besides, I’ve been saving up for a while. It’s perfectly fine.”

Chanyeol hesitated but in the end, decided that Baekhyun was doing this for him and he should accept it gratefully. “Thank you so much.”

Baekhyun smiled brightly and pecked his boyfriend’d lips. “You’re welcome.”

\---

Chanyeol and Baekhyun got back to their shared apartment at lunch time, a new guitar in tow. Chanyeol was still in shock, holding the instrument with caution. At that moment, it was his most prized possession. He went to their shared bedroom and removed his old wood guitar from the stand, setting his new one down in its place.

“I still can’t believe you got me a guitar.”Chanyeol mumbled happily as he pulled Baekhyun towards him for a hug. He tucked the smaller’s head under his chin and sighed in content. “This is the best birthday ever.”

Baekhyun smiled proudly and kissed his boyfriend’s neck. “Kyungsoo gave you a discount, by the way. He said that was your birthday gift.” His voice was slightly muffled by Chanyeol’s hoodie.

“I’ll have to thank him the next time I see him.” Chanyeol noted.

“It won’t be too long.” Baekhyun said as he pulled away. “Joon and Yixing’s wedding is in two weeks. You’ll see him then.”

Chanyeol moved to sit down on their bed, sprawling out on his stomach. “It’s crazy. It feels like I met them just yesterday.”

Baekhyun nodded and laid down next to his boyfriend. Chanyeol happily shifted to accommodate him. “Time flies.”

They sat in comfortable silence after that, Chanyeol remembering the first time they met, their first anniversary, when he turned himself mortal. He couldn’t help but think about how everything he did was worth it in the end. Everything turned out better than he could have imagined.

“I love you.” He mumbled and closed his eyes, suddenly growing tired.

Chanyeol felt more than heard Baekhyun’s chuckle rumbling in his chest. “I love you too. Why do you only tell me you love me whenever I give you something?” He teased.

Chanyeol barked out a laugh and blushed. “That’s not true. I always love you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know you do, Romeo.” Baekhyun rolled over so he was lying on top of Chanyeol’s back. Chanyeol wheezed and tried to wiggle away, laughing at his boyfriend’s antics.

“God, you’re crushing me.” He complained as he squirmed under Baekhyun. Baekhyun started laughing loudly and Chanyeol thought that he could stay like that forever, as long as Baekhyun was having fun - even if it meant he’d be squished.

\----

“Wait, Baek, who’s coming over?” Chanyeol asked from his spot on the couch. Baekhyun grinned excitedly and plopped himself down on his boyfriend’s lap.

“I can’t tell you but you’re going to love it.” He replied and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek. “I promise.”

Chanyeol lit up. “You have to tell me who it is.” He pleaded. “This is a matter of life and death. What if I have a heart attack from the shock when I see who it is and it’s all because you didn’t tell me who it was in advance.”

Baekhyun only shook his head. “If you have a heart attack today it’ll probably be because of how much junk food you ate for breakfast.” He mocked. “Besides, they’ll be here any second so you can see for yourself.”

“The suspense is killing me!” Chanyeol threw his head back. Baekhyun took advantage of his position and nipped his jaw lightly. The taller man squirmed.

“You’ll just have to be patient.” 

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door to their apartment, the sound resonating loudly. “That should be them.” Baekhyun smiled excitedly and hopped off his boyfriend and practically ran towards the door.

Chanyeol, curious as always, followed Baekhyun down the hall just in time to see him open the door.

Chanyeol stared in shock. He looked virtually the same and although his blonde hair had grown longer, it was the only noticeable change. Of course, he wouldn’t change. He was a God, after all.

“Y-Yifan?” Chanyeol stuttered. Yifan smiled brightly and walked into the apartment, pulling Chanyeol into a tight hug. “Oh, my God.” He could feel his eyes watering as joy and excitement bubbled up from deep inside of him, as well as relief. Yifan was _there_. 

“Happy birthday, Chanyeol.” Yifan said in a cheery voice. “Long time no see, huh?”

Chanyeol pulled away and smacked his best friend’s arm. “It’s your fault! You haven’t contacted me in forever!” He accused. “I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”

Yifan pouted, a look that didn’t suit his mature features. His eyes looked a little guilty, though. “You know that I could never forget about you.”

Baekhyun laughed from where he was still standing by the door. “This is like those dramas that Jongdae and Minseok watch together.” He compared. “All cheesy and shit.”

Chanyeol blushed and pulled back, wiping his eyes quickly. “I swear, you sound just like Zitao.”

\----

Chanyeol spent the rest of the afternoon recounting the past five years of his life on Earth; he told him the story about his graduation, moving into a new apartment, finding a job and all sorts of other things that had happened since he saw him last. Chanyeol explained that Yixing had proposed to Joonmyeon last Spring while celebrating their anniversary and how Kyungsoo and Jongin had bought their own house with the money that Kyungsoo made from managing Capstone Music and Jongin made from teaching dance.

Yifan listened attentively and excitedly, nodding along, asking questions here and there. He told Chanyeol the things he missed in Olympus and about his relationship with Zitao. It felt like old times and Chanyeol loved every single second he spent with Yifan. Yifan was, after all, the closest thing he had to a brother and he hadn’t seen him in close to five years.

Baekhyun listened to them talk, occasionally adding in his own part of the story or opinions. He loved how Chanyeol looked so happy talking to Yifan. It was certainly a good idea to contact Lu Han and ask him to get Yifan to come down to Earth. It wouldn’t have been possible without him.

“You really like it here, huh.” Yifan said with a small smile.

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun fondly, without thinking. Baekhyun looked so proud with his head held high and his perfect posture. His eyes, however, softened whenever he looked at Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s response was almost immediate. He answered confidently. “Yeah, I’ve found where I belong.”

He truly believed it.

To Chanyeol, it didn’t matter where he was, as long as he was with Baekhyun, because to him, with Baekhyun was where he belonged.

**The End**

A/N: The hangul at the beginning is from Exo Promise (Exo 2014) and it says:   
You even liked my clumsy moments. But I wonder if I even deserve that love.You always waited for me at that spot. You embraced me with your arms, so thankful to you. I won’t ever forget. I will make you happy, Just like the saying, we are one. Even after time, I couldn’t say anything and just swallowed my words. Words saying, I’m sorry, I love you, please believe in me like you do now. I’ll hug you, I’ll hold your hands. If your heart can be at rest, I’ll give it my all

**Author's Note:**

> I worked really hard on this story and I'm glad that I can share this proudly. I'm so thankful for my amazing beta who has helped me improve my writing and has been so ridiculously helpful this entire time. She is the one who made all of this presentable and she helped with plot holes and spelling and constructive criticism. I honestly cannot say enough good things about her. She is truly awesome! I hope anyone who reads this enjoys it, we both worked hard!


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